With parking citations ranging from $25 to $500, each year the University of Alabama department of Transportation Services collects between $1.5 and $2 million from citations. Citations can be given for double parking, exceeding time limits, improper use of a permit and nearly 30 other violations, according to UA parking services.
“As a self-sustaining department, Transportation Services uses monies collected through permit sales and citations to fund projects including construction of parking decks, parking lots, roadways and road signage, as well as road and parking lot repair,” said Cathy Andreen, director of media relations. “The funds are also used to pay staff, purchase equipment including department vehicles and office supplies and pay debt service on previously constructed structures.”
She explained that the revenue collected from citations each year goes directly back into the department to fund operations and projects. However, many students feel like the ticketing has become excessive.
“I have gotten three parking tickets this year and it’s getting out of control,” said Claudia Argenti, a senior majoring in restaurant and hospitality management. “One of my tickets was given to me at 6:30 p.m. I have the ten Hoor parking pass that cost about $400, and there was a day that I had parked and ran into ten Hoor for about five minutes, and when I came out, there was a ticket. They seem so eager to give tickets that they don’t even check to see if there is a permit.”
Currently, parking permits in the South Rose Reserve lot, Communication Reserve lot, South Ferguson lot, Science and Engineering lot, Bevill Reserve lot, Foster Farrah Reserve lot and the South ten Hoor deck all cost $450. Perimeter parking permits cost $150, regular faculty-staff permits cost $205, reserve parking permits cost $450 and reserve parking permits in the Rose Administration lots are $470.
With the price of parking permits ranging from $100 to $470, there is a debate about whether a $25 or $50 parking ticket for parking in the wrong lot is extreme and unwarranted.
“It is ridiculous to me that parking permit prices are that high anyways, and to top it off, we get $25, $50 and $100 parking tickets on top of that is even more ridiculous,” said Kerry Weir, a senior majoring in journalism.
“Not to mention on your third or fourth ticket you get a boot on your car. I mean seriously, we are on campus. We shouldn’t be getting booted for trying to make it to class on time. Maybe if they built more parking decks, we wouldn’t have to park in the wrong place.”
