Views expressed in opinion columns are the author’s own.
The University of Maryland DOTS issues a lot of parking tickets — more than 43,200 in the 2022-23 academic year, to be exact. Considering how frequently students receive tickets, we should ask: is there a better way to deter unwanted parking?
Tickets are not cheap, and students shouldn’t have to scavenge under their sofa cushions for change to pay a fine that could be $85. The Department of Transportation Services should consider alternatives.
Many college students have limited or no knowledge of campus parking rules, so educating parking violators with a mandatory course on regulations and transit rules would be a practical solution.
Students shouldn’t be expected to educate themselves beyond what is taught in lectures — and sometimes not even that — but this university can obligate them.
After a second infraction, a student would be required to take a course or series of courses on DOTS rules and regulations. The courses could cover the university’s campus parking map, which has been personally helpful in finding convenient places to park after 4 p.m. Questions could ask students to choose the correct parking option based on time and location and identify potential fines for parking infractions. They should vary with each attempt to ensure not only memorization, but comprehension.
Informing students of resources such as the campus parking map and teaching them how to navigate it could prevent unwanted parking violations without ticketing. In implementing this, the university can be successful in being more transparent about its parking and transit policies and give students an opportunity to be educated on the matter so they can be responsible law abiding students.
Another option DOTS should consider is mandated community service hours. Altruism is wonderful, but in its absence, DOTS-mandated community service hours can be a bridge toward projects and works that better the community. This system would inform students of opportunities they might not have been aware of. But if a student prefers to pay the parking ticket, they should have that option throughout the process. Some value time more than money, and that is valid. For others, time might be their only resource, so community service hours could be a relief.
Service hours could be completed under existing programs, such as the university’s Arboretum & Botanical Garden, where students can volunteer for various outdoor tasks, including planting trees. Other options could include volunteering within College Park, which would involve coordination with local officials and the university to assign students to areas in the city where help is needed.
After the first few infractions, the monetary fine should be enforced. By this point, several opportunities to avoid paying the fee would have been given, so students should pay. The goal isn’t to avoid the ticket fee entirely but to give students a learning opportunity before they are required to pay.
Mandated courses on DOTS parking rules and community service hours for parking infractions would educate students on parking regulations and open a door for them to give back to their school and community.
A new system that offers alternatives to traditional parking fines through mandatory DOTS regulation courses and community service hours would not only educate students on campus parking rules but encourage a stronger sense of responsibility and community involvement.
This system could prevent future infractions by giving students the knowledge they need to avoid mistakes and providing them with opportunities to contribute positively to their university. But the decision to do so would be settled by whether DOTS values students’ dollars over hours of service for the betterment of the university and College Park.
