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by MARY ELIZABETH ROBERTSON
Intern News Reporter
Many students at Appalachian State University have left their residence hall or classroom building, and returned to their car to find a parking ticket tucked under their windshield wiper.
This situation occurred 12,786 times last year, according to the 2007-08 University Parking and Traffic annual report.
 Traffic tickets issued through the University Parking and Traffic Department generate revenue distributed to the Department of Public Instruction. Photo by Martin Stamat |
When asked where
sophomore applied mathematics major Kyle D. Crump thought his parking
ticket money went, he said it most likely went to building funds.
However, Director of Parking and Traffic Barry D. Sauls said the money from parking tickets is classified as a fine.
The money from tickets goes to the Department of Public Instruction and supports K-12 public schools, he said.
The money from the purchase of parking spots on campus plays an important role in parking lot maintenance.
“We
don’t get anything from the state,” Sauls said. “[The money for]
painting lots, paving and putting up signs, comes from the sale of
parking permits.”
A
student might be curious as to how the school is able to afford the
parking decks found on campus if parking and traffic funding is only
derived from the sale of spaces.
“We had to borrow money to build the parking deck,” Sauls said. “We are paying that back $770,000 a year.”
He said the addition of the parking deck caused parking fees on campus to rise.
“[Everyone]
assumes we get money from the state [of North Carolina]. The University
gets money to build a building but you can’t get money from the state
for parking,” Sauls said.
He said
the exception, however, was the Belk Library & Information Commons
parking deck because it was built on top of a parking lot.
“We lost
300 spaces with the construction of the library [parking deck], so in
that case, the state replaced what they took and built the parking
deck,” Sauls said.
Sophomore
communications major Brittany R. Burdine has never had a parking
ticket, but still feels the effects of campus parking dilemmas.
“I don’t
think there are enough parking spaces, especially on [the east side of
campus],” she said. “I think they need to have more parking spaces,
maybe a parking deck built in the Legends Parking Lot.”
Problems with parking on campus are not limited to the lack of space available or the price of a spot.
Crump
said, “I love the football team and all, but why should I have to move
my car from Greenwood [Parking Lot] every Friday night when I’m trying
to spend time with my friends—just because someone had the extra money
to pay for a Yosef [Club] Membership.”
He said parking rules should be addressed during freshman orientation for incoming students.
New changes to parking and traffic rules might help the situation.
This
year, everyone who parks in Stadium must have a parking permit until 5
p.m. when the parking lot is open for general use, Sauls said.
He said
this is a change from last year, because students were able to park in
Stadium until 2 p.m. with a valid permit, while another parking permit
made it possible to park there from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
“…You
would have people waiting until 2 [p.m.] to move their car to Stadium
[Lot] and a person with a [3 p.m.] class would not be able to park,”
Sauls said.
In addition, Sauls hopes e-mail notifications regarding parking on game days will be of benefit to students.
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