DPS Seeks to Up Parking Penalties

The Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee voted Wednesday to recommend several changes in parking fees and zoning. The recommendations will be presented to the Board of Trustees at their meeting in March.

The committee is advocating raising the fee for parking on landscape from $20 to $30 and raising the fee for parking on a sidewalk from $20 to $50.

Another recommended cost increase is for violation of athletic parking restrictions. If approved, the fine for violating special parking regulations will be raised from $50 to $75.

To deter such violations, the committee also recommended that overnight parking be prohibited in some parking lots the night before an athletic event.

Assistant Provost Timothy Sanford questioned this provision, saying, "It seems to me to be a shame to close off any lot to evening parking -- unless there's a real reason."

Assistant Director of Public Services Cheryl Stout responded that the Department of Public Safety wanted to adopt the measure as an attempt to prevent towing.

For those students who do get towed, the committee is recommending they pay a little more in the fall. The cost of a standard tow will rise from $50 to $55, and the cost of a tow using dolly wheels will rise from $60 to $65, if the plan is approved.

Stout said the increase is not an attempt to make a profit for DPS. "We're just trying to break even."

The committee also recommended that the maximum charges for special event parking, such as concerts and athletics, be raised for all vehicles except buses.

If approved, the maximum fee would increase from $7 to $10 for cars, from $10 to $20 for limousines and from $20 to $30 for RVs. The charge for a bus would remain $40.

Sanford questioned the increase, which is designed to pay for costs such as traffic signs and cones. "It would seem to me that everyone coming to this should pay, not just people who park."

Sanford pointed out that many people might walk or ride the bus to special events. He said an alternative could be to add a small fee to each ticket sold for an event.

Director of Public Safety Derek Poarch said that event tickets need to remain competitive, and that it is important to avoid delegating that cost to permit holders.

Stout said it is important to remember that this increase does not necessarily mean that fees will rise. She said the recommendation is to increase the maximum amount UNC is allowed to charge, not the amount it necessarily will charge. The last recommendation the committee made was to change the zoning of several parking lots.

Associate Vice Chancellor for Auxiliary Services Carolyn Elfland did say that the goals of the committee are clear, but that they need more time to figure out the method. "We all think that what we need is more service and a fare-free service program," she said. "With this immediate parking crunch we have, it seems like transit is a way out of it."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.