The Clipper

Issue date: 2/26/10 Section: News

Media Credit: Jamei June A ticket was issued on this vehicle for being parked in a reserved spot for an extended amount of time.

The small size of the new passes, confusion about where in the car they should be placed, and the high price of the permits students don't want to spend have all been a factor in parking tickets this quarter.

Parking permit fines, even for students who have parking passes, and talk of increasing permit prices are surprising many students.

When Everett Community College student Arielle Heighton heard the news of the potential price increase she said, "And we never get parking anyway!"

Full time students pay $21.84, including tax, for a parking pass and may be ticketed from $20 to $250 for parking violations. The money goes to the administration and students have a right to know where the money is being distributed.

All ticket revenue goes into the parking and safety budget. the majority of the money goes to payroll for security, student helpers, id badges, uniforms, signs, paint, parking equipment, training, Department of Licensing fees. The remaining eight percent goes to the general fund.

Everett Community College's annual revenue is $41 million. Parking permit and tickets account for $200,000 of it.

There will soon be more parking-related revenue coming in: discussions of parking permits' prices being raised have been taking place. The dates and costs of the permits are yet to be defined.

Bob Wright, the director of security, said the two main reasons for the price increases are, "one, to inspire people to find alternative ways to campus (i.e., public transit, carpool, vanpool or ride programs). Two, to help subsidize those alternative methods."

One student that does not mind the chance of change is Ayla Riggle. "I park on the street where there's ample parking and I get a good ten minute exercise before school. I don't mind at all," said Riggle.

As returning students may have noticed, the size of the new parking passes is about half the size of previous quarters' passes. Wright, said, "They are smaller to save money, but we're going back to larger."

Krystal Henderson, student senator and member of the Transportation Committee, received a permit ticket earlier this quarter, even though she had a parking pass, because the number of the pass was not visible. When she informed security that she did have a pass, they reduced her fine by half.

Henderson advises students, "If you have a (parking pass), you can have it on your dashboard; but the numbers must be showing."

Despite complaints that students are being ticketed even when they have their parking permit displayed, Wright said, "I am convinced officers aren't writing tickets to write tickets. They do a thorough job."

He said that the officers look on the dashboard, center consoles and the floor of the car to insure that students do not have a permit displayed before issuing a ticket.

Students who would like to learn more about transportation or express their opinion are invited to attend transportation committee meetings. The meetings take place Wednesdays from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the Student Activities Office Conference room.

"Anyone is welcome! As long as they are a student," said student senator and transportation committee member Robert Alkine.

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