Parking Division lays new policies

A $35 ticket fine increase for violating the campus’s 20-mile speed limit took effect at the beginning of the month, one of several changes in the University’s Parking Division regulations.

Violating the campus speed limit now results in a $50 ticket. Speeding is one of the top ten traffic violations on campus, said Brian Mager, SIUC parking division administrator.

Not having decals displayed, parking in the grass or the wrong colored lot results in a $35 ticket for violating the school’s regulations, a $20 ticket increase from the previous year. Illegal parking, such as parking against a yellow curb or in a fire lane, results in an $18 ticket fine, up from last year’s $8 fine.

“We weren’t getting enough compliance,” Mager said. “In the last couple of years, compliance has not been where we wanted.”

Another major change in policies and regulations is the requirement for freshmen and sophomore commuters under the age of 21 to park in the yellow lots 18 and 56, which are located near the SIU Arena.

A free shuttle service makes stops every twenty minutes around campus from the lots, looping around Lincoln Drive. The shuttle serves students and faculty members with valid IDs.

“The reasons for these changes are twofold; one was to attempt to relieve the congestion and two, to relieve some of the traffic congestion on the road to increase safety,” Mager said.

Commuters are issued red parking stickers that authorize them to park in lots identified with a red square sign.

Students who live on campus are issued white overnight stickers. Thompson Point residents are permitted to park in lots 23 and 59. Brush Tower residents may park in lots 45 and 106.

Between 4 p.m. and 2 a.m., students with red, yellow or white stickers can park in any student-reserved lots, totaling about 9,200 spaces.

Student reaction to the changes is generally negative. Beth Swartzendruber, a senior in elementary education from Freeport, said creating more parking spaces rather than raising violation fines is the most efficient way to lower the number of parking and traffic non-compliance citations.

“If they made more parking places, we wouldn’t have as much parking problems but as it is, there’s no place to park,” she said.

Jaimie Reynolds, a senior in radio-television from Marion, is more disappointed about the higher ticket fee. But the changes will motivate her and other students to be more aware of their parking behavior, she said.

“If it comes out of your pocket it tends to hurt it a little. It would deter me,” Reynolds said.

Mager said the changes will increase student compliance and alter the behavior of students who do not abide the program’s regulations.

“If we have people violating and creating unsafe conditions, we have a responsibility to do something about that,” he said.

Reporter Jane Huh can be reached at [email protected]