Issue date: 8/17/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Steve Berry A Parking Services staff member issues a parking citation in the metered lot next to the Morris University Center. Parking Services issued more than 28,000 parking tickets during the 2006-07 school year.

Stomach growling and tired of microwaved Ramen noodles, you hop in your car and drive to the Morris University Center. You feed the meter a quarter and a nickel - buying a cheeseburger from the grill cannot take that long, right? As you walk out to your car with your clam-shell foam container holding your piping hot burger you see it - a little white slip of paper tucked snugly between your windshield and your wiper. You got a ticket.

Meter violations are the most common parking tickets issued by Parking Services officials, Bob Vanzo, Director of Administrative Services, said.

Freshman Christine McGoveran is one of the many who have found a parking ticket on her car while it was parked in the meter lot.

McGoveran said she put a few minutes worth of change in the meter because she had quick business to take care of on campus. When she came back to her car she had a ticket. She said her meter could not have been expired for more than two or three minutes by the time she walked out to her car.

"I can see if it was really busy, or I was really late, but it wasn't," McGoveran said. "There was hardly anybody in the parking lot."

Though anti-Parking Services sentiments often run high among ticket recipients, keeping violations off windshields is just a matter of following the rules.

"The best way to avoid a parking ticket is to buy a permit and park where you're supposed to," Vanzo said.

Continued...

Page 1 of 2 next >

Article Tools