He has the habit of parking his car on Stadium Drive with his hazard lights on while he runs into Carmichael Residence Hall to pack for a weekend at home.
Despite leaving notes on his dashboard saying he will be back soon, Lyerly invariably returns to a note of a different kind from a parking enforcement officer, with a fine attached.
But while students and faculty members lament the financial burden of parking fines, the $1.6 million in proceeds from the tickets are put back into the parking lots, being used by the Department of Public Safety to create and maintain parking spaces.
Still, for most drivers, a parking citation is the last thing they want to find on their dashboards -- especially because Chancellor James Moeser signed a recommendation last week from the Transportation and Parking Advisory Committee to raise several parking fines, including citations for parking on the landscape and sidewalks.
The increases in fines for parking on sidewalks and the landscape are needed to make them equal to those charged for parking in a parking space without a permit because the latter is currently a more expensive offense, said Derek Poarch, director of the DPS.
"It's better to pass on these fee increases to violators than to parking pass holders," he said.
These fee increases, as well as potential increases in athletic and special event parking violations, will be considered at the Board of Trustees meeting in March and would take effect Aug. 15.
The $1.6 million in parking fines levied last year directly supports the DPS's parking and transportation budget, which does not receive any University or state funds.
The $12.9 million in the department's budget is used for maintenance of parking lots and decks as well as to pay staff salaries. The rest of the budget comes from sales of parking permits, sales of visitor permits, parking meters and charges for special event parking, Poarch said.
