University of Hawaii at Manoa is known for many things, but there is one thing all students know to be true: when you see a yellow shirt lurking around, a ticket is most likely waiting for you on your windshield. Permits are required to park on campus, but they are almost impossible to get your hands on. Even if you are able to get a parking permit, you can still receive tickets if you park outside of your zone. The zones are somewhat ridiculous, being that they are never full and you can’t park in them, even though there is space. As you can see, UH Manoa has more than enough parking; so where are broke college kids going wrong in this massive parking game?
Many people receive tickets at UH every day and they are $15 if you pay them within a week. If you don’t make this cut, they will rise in price to $25. You do have the wonderful option to appeal your ticket, but more often than not, your appeals are ignored or your ticket is just reduced in price.
Appeals are an interesting thing. Some excuses for your “illegal” parking that you never think would work surprisingly do, while some reasons that are genuine don’t. After asking a few students around campus what they said in their appeals, I found a mixed variety of answers.
- Appeal Date 1/26/2017
Appeal Reason: The only time I ever park on campus is when I am dropping off work to my teachers, which only takes 15-20 minutes. It was to my understanding that you could park anywhere if it was for under 20 minutes, but I keep receiving tickets.
Judgment: APPROVED!
- Appeal Date 3/14/2017
Appeal Reason: My house was caught in the McCully fire so I have been evacuated since the fire and was told I could park on campus and if I got a ticket, just to let you know about the fire.
Judgment: APPROVED!
- Appeal Date 2/10/2017
Appeal Reason: I thought I could park here.
Judgment: APPROVED!
- Appeal Date 2/30/2017
Appeal Reason: I thought I could park anywhere with my permit.
Judgment: APPROVED!
- Appeal Date 3/18/2017
Appeal Reason: I HAVE A PARKING PERMIT, SO I SHOULDN’T HAVE GOTTEN A TICKET.
Judgment: DENIED-Parked in wrong zone
- Appeal Date 1/20/2017
Appeal Reason: I paid for parking, therefore I shouldn’t of recieved a ticket
Judgment: DENIED-Payment was reported as expired
- Appeal Date 1/30/2017
Appeal Reason: I just had knee surgery and am in a leg brace and on crutches. I have a temporary handicap pass arriving soon due to my injury and was told I could park in these designated zones.
Judgment: Reduced to $6- We are sorry to hear about your injury, but you can’t park in this zone.
As you can see, some excuses work better than others. My advice (after reading all the appeals that people sent me) is that you can usually get an appeal approved if you play a little dumb and act like you didn’t understand the parking rules on campus. Just be aware when you’re parking because you never know when a yellow demon in a tee will sneak up and place one of those horrible neon envelopes on your windshield!