Letter to the editor
Posted March 21, 2012 at 8:28 pm in Letters to the Editor, Opinion
USC should rethink its unrealistic parking rules.
Have you ever gotten a parking ticket at USC? Or better yet, received more parking tickets from USC than from the Los Angeles Police Department? The USC parking enforcement regulations should be revised according to state law.
When the parking enforcement at a college campus is stricter than that of the government, we have an issue. Permit holders already pay a lot of money for their spots. To actively seek out more money from permit holders through parking fines is simply an abuse of power.
USC is very keen on making the rules vague and difficult to access.
For example, take the carpool spaces in the lots all over campus: Much of the first and second floors of the parking structures have red signs for carpool parking only. Why is this confusing? Because the sign is directly in front of one spot, yet has arrows pointing in both directions. Does this mean that we cannot park to the right or left of that spot? And if it does, how do we know how many spots down the line this even applies to? Apparently all of the spots in between signs, although unmarked, warrant citations.
On the USC Transportation website’s Parking Rules & Regulations page, the illegal parking section says that parking “in more than one space is not permitted regardless of duration.” What this rule does not state is that having a tire partially over the second yellow line — even just one centimeter — counts as parking in more than one spot and constitutes an expensive ticket.
The parking committee does not abide by California DMV laws that allow free meter parking on holidays. Rather, they charge at the meters 24/7 with no exceptions.
Furthermore, students who live on campus and have parking spots in the lot do not visit their cars daily. The fact that citations can be given repeatedly for the same offense when the driver has failed to see the first citation is absolutely ridiculous.
Overall, the parking enforcement system at USC is a ploy to make money off of its drivers. The parking committee seeks out payments whenever it can.
The USC administration should revise the parking regulations to make them fair and reasonable, rather than use them to take advantage of drivers.
Nicole Sneider
Junior, communication
Also in the Daily Trojan:
Tags
This article is tagged: DMV, parking, Parking Enforcement, USC Transportation
Loading ...
I have a slightly different experience regarding being cited for parking violations. The two times I appealed the citations, I won.
No action was taken and no fines levied.
Absolutely agree with the article. You nailed it on the head. I’ve considered running the citation officer over when I see them in structures.
As a permit holder, I am beyond frustrated. I’ve recieved a ticket for my tire being on the line, even though the spaces are so narrow that I had to pull in at an angle so the adjacent car doors can have room to open. I received a ticket for my permit being on the right side of my windshield instead of the left and and another for parking in PSx instead of Radisson when my designated lot was full. All of this is in one semester. I feel that the parking rules are ridiculous and a ploy to rip students off.
Why should a private university be bound by state laws regarding parking? That’s a retarded point to make.