Spring Break
Miami Parking Services sees decline in ticketing for 2006-07
Chau Nguyen
Issue date: 4/6/07 Section: Front Page
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"We have a considerable number of students (who) park on campus, quite often parking in areas where they are not allowed to park and they get a ticket for that," said Richard Keppler, director of parking and transportation.
According to Keppler, it is expected that by the end of the 2006-07 academic year, 40,000 parking tickets will be issued.
"Roughly 25,000 of those tickets will be issued to people who parked in a lot during the day without the right permit," Keppler said.
Parking services issued 23 percent fewer tickets to date as of March 30, compared to the 2005-06 academic year, with estimated revenue of about $490,000 compared to $706,110 in 2005-06.
Keppler believes the decline in parking violations is due to drivers' compliance with restrictions.
"We've actually been pretty successful in ensuring that somebody will get a ticket if they park in violation in a lot where they're not supposed to be, and that's well known," Keppler said.
Drivers who do get citations can petition them by submitting written appeals to two appeal committees, one for students and another for faculty and staff, using an application provided at the parking services office or Web site. Through the appeals process, tickets are either upheld, dismissed or fines waived.
"When dismissing a ticket, the committee is saying that the student is not responsible for the ticket and waiving the fine means that the student is responsible for the ticket, but they will waive the fine this time," Keppler said.
According to Keppler, the faculty and staff appeals committee operates independently from parking services. Students are included in the student appeals committee, where the majority of appeals are reviewed.
As of March 30, 249 of the 748 total tickets appealed to both committees were either waived or dismissed, Keppler said.
According to Keppler, drivers with a parking permit through the university are held responsible for their fines through their bursar, preventing students from graduating or registering for classes until the bills have been paid.
With a system that prioritizes faculty and staff parking, the availability of space near central campus, where students say they need it the most, is limited.
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Heather
posted 4/06/07 @ 9:49 AM EST
I think the number of tickets generated for parking in a restricted area with the wrong color of permit would decrease even further if their was clearer signage. (Continued…)
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