The Griffon News

Four weeks into the semester, students are already complaining about how tickets are being distributed.

There have been 900 citations within the first two weeks of school; 41 of the citations have been appealed and there have been two canceled appeal appointments.

This year, new rules have been put into effect with no excuses. Jonathan Kelley, director of public safety, said that there are two main problems with parking: people historically failing to register their vehicle and parking in a reserved space.

According to the vehicle and registration pamphlet a vehicle has been properly registered when a registration decal is issued; and decals are valid from the day they are issued by the parking service personnel until it expires from the date listed on the decal.

Vehicle decals are not to be transferred from person to person or to another vehicle.

A majority of the citations given out to people are issued because the vehicle is not registered. Kelley believes it’s because of the process that people think they have to go through, not the fee of $20. Now the registration process is a lot quicker simply because it’s online, so parking services know when people/students haven’t registered their vehicles.

“In addition to that there is no additional cost for a student to register their vehicle, so their shouldn’t be an issue of ‘well I didn’t have the $20 the first two weeks’ or ‘I couldn’t get over there to do it.’ It’s online, so you can do it 24-7 and just swing by our office and pick up the decals,” Kelley said. “The process of getting your decals has become a lot easier and quicker because it’s online.”

Failure to register vehicles may cause parking security to take disciplinary actions, which involves tickets or a boot on your vehicle. Taken off campus. This caused disciplinary action to occur and now parking services use a new boot.

Micah Pangburn, a Missouri Western student and first semester parking officer said that the rules are more strict this semester than last year, so people could register their vehicles.

“Failure to display stickers and students parking in visitor’s spots in a rush to get to class, results in a ticket,” Pangburn said.

Still at odds, many students would say that they did not know of these rules. Senior J.R. Graham, who lives off campus, said that Public Safety finds reasons to fine you.

“My first semester here I steadily used to park in the yellow lines, not knowing that students could not park there and I kept getting tickets, no warning- just tickets; they’re just ticket [happy],” Graham said.

Still tickets are being issued this semester causing parents and students to get upset. There has already been more citations issued this semester verses last semester. Kelley said that unpaid tickets and 10 or more citations in a semester results in a boot on a motor vehicle.

Along with the new rules and safety measures; parking services added barriers between lots to simplify the traffic flow on campus. Residential areas have restricted traffic flow to prevent accidents.

“What we have done in our parking lots out here is that we have opened the traffic flow up, by removing any type of restriction in the parking lots,” Kelley said.

Lot O behind Living Learning Center (LLC) has been restricted by adding a gate to only resident students of either the LLC or Vaselakos. Lot E & F (Beshears and Logan Hall) is restricted to resident students to enter one way and exit one way to keep people from driving through the residential lots looking for a quicker way out. The barriers are used to be traffic flow dividers, dividing residential lots from other lots, which makes it simpler.

Kelley said it restricts traffic flow through residential parking lots, which helps with traffic flow and protects students that park in the residential parking areas.

“We’ve simplified our process because now when I look in that parking lot all I have to say is, I know that everyone of the cars in there needs to have a residential parking approved sticker,” Kelley said.

Paige Pierce, a residential student at Western, said that her first year here she parked in Lot G and got a ticket and kept getting them because from her understanding she was told that it was okay to park there.

For students confused as to where to park and from what times, Kelley gives an overview:

“After 4:30 p.m. all general parking areas are open and also on the weekends. Lot O, E & F are residential parking lots and Lot G is for patrons, staff, faculty and non- residents from 8 a.m-4:30 p.m.,” Kelley said.

With new and strict parking regulations it is hoped that students will register their vehicles and not take parking citations for granted, because if tickets are not paid students can not register for classes next semester.