Parking on Campus: A Sticky Situation

Arts & Entertainment Editor

   Parking on the University of Arkansas-Monticello campus tends to be a sticky situation for some, especially those without a sticker.

   “Our biggest problem is with non-permitted vehicles on campus,” said Chief John Kidwell, director of the Department of Public Safety.

  Traffic regulations on campus require all students, faculty and staff to register their vehicles with Public Safety and receive a decal sticker to place in the lower left portion of the rear window or on the left side of the rear bumper.

   Decals expire on Aug. 31 or upon the termination of faculty and staff members or the withdrawal of students from school according to the traffic regulations.

    Junior Jennifer Nicholson received a ticket for an expired parking sticker the day after her decal expired.

   “I had no idea they expired in the middle of the year.  It was for 2009, which is still not over.  I assumed they would expire at the end of the year not at the beginning of this semester,” Nicholson said.

   Nicholson voiced a suggestion after realizing many people received tickets that day.

   “I think the campus needs to send out a reminder email or announce it during registration or something so this doesn’t happen again,” she said.

   People not enrolled or employed by the university must make parking arrangements with Public Safety prior to parking on campus if they plan to park on campus between the hours of 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m. Dated visitor permits may be obtained from Public Safety at no charge.

   The same rules apply for temporary parking permits. However, the temporary permit does not take the place of a permanent registration and only covers a period of 20 days throughout the year.

   Jeffery Taylor, associate professor of Chemistry, obtained a temporary parking sticker and attempted to have another sticker issued one morning at 8 a.m., but because of the office being too busy, he left to teach his class and planned to return at 9 a.m. to find a parking ticket on his car.

   Taylor said went to the Cashier’s office to get a decal and register his second vehicle. He then explained the ticket to Public Safety, which he said told him they would take care of the ticket.

   Taylor said he received a $20 bill.

   “I really don’t understand how some students, faculty and staff can get away with having last year’s sticker or no sticker this late into the semester when (Campus Police) will write me a ticket with a visible temporary expired by one hour.  I have witnessed some students park in a faculty lot for an entire semester and never get ticketed,” Taylor said. “So If you want to park in my faculty lot with a student sticker or no sticker, I have a right to ask (Campus Police) to write you a ticket.”

   Public Safety assigns different decals for each type of parking. Each decal designates a vehicle to be parked in a certain lot. Vehicles with faculty and staff decals may park in spots with a red curb. Commuter decals indicate parking in spots with white on the curb. Resident decals indicate parking in the lots with a green curb. Yellow curbs represent loading areas or areas with no parking.

   According to Kidwell, Public Safety issues citations to students, faculty and staff daily for incorrect parking.

   Senior Amanda Hall commutes for campus for only one or two classes and received two parking tickets this semester for parking in the wrong location.

   “When I go to choir, there is almost never any parking in the commuter spaces beside Harris Hall,” she said. “I park in the red spaces right next to the band hall.”
   Hall said she knows the university makes it clear where to park, but finds it an extreme inconvenience.

   “I comprehend that I'm in the wrong by parking in these spots, but I'd rather pay (for the ticket) than be late to class and pay with my grade point average which directly correlates to my scholarship,” she said.

   The penalty for parking in the wrong location or failure to display parking decals correctly results in a fee of $25. If an unauthorized vehicle parks in a space reserved for the disabled, the fee increases to $75.

   Kidwell said he does not see much of a difference in parking issues compared to the previous semester, but according to the citation book records, he sees a 25 percent decrease in the number of citations written.

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