Dear Parking Services,
On October 15th at least 20 cars in Lot 12, including my own, were issued a warning citation for parking in a No Parking Zone. Not only are these citations incredibly frustrating, but they are also completely unfair.
Lot 12 is usually pretty full on a day-to-day basis, and it makes complete sense that students who arrive later on campus have to park in the back. However, if students and faculty are charged almost $300 to park in that lot, then they should be guaranteed a spot every day, no questions asked.
Yet an overwhelming amount of people are often left without parking spots. What are we expected to do when the lot we pay to park in is already over its capacity at 10am? Should we park in a different lot and risk getting ticketed? Should we squeeze in the back and hope it’s okay? If you’re going to overfill the lots, at least give us a backup plan for where we should go.
By the time I got back down to the lot after my one class was over, the lot was closed. There were cones blocking the road and someone was standing out front with a sign because the lot was so badly overfilled. I have never seen so many cars crammed into one area. So, Parking Services, this is my question for you: If you sell more permits than there are spots, where do you expect us to park?
The fact that you had to close the lot speaks volumes. How can you justify ticketing students for trying to park in the lot they pay good money to park in?
Clearly there are some issues here that need to be resolved. At the end of the day, if people are paying money to park in a lot, they should always have a spot.
Sincerely,
The Students and Faculty of Lot 12