Some GSB senators call ISU tickets ‘unreasonable’
November 20, 1996
Parking on campus — a continuing woe for many students — will be addressed by the Government of the Student Body at tonight’s meeting.
Senators will introduce a new business resolution tonight that proposes some parking changes.
Senator Rory Flaherty, off-campus, proposed the resolution. Flaherty said he hopes it draws attention to the problems of parking on campus.
“Saying there’s a parking problem on campus is like calling the sky blue; everyone knows it’s a problem, but no one knows what to do,” Flaherty said.
The resolution states that parking enforcement is unjust and the cost of tickets is unreasonable. It states the movement to deter motorists from parking illegally by the threat of towing does not work.
Flaherty disapproves of the increasing use of tow trucks on campus. “I think there has to be a better way of making the campus more accessible to students who are just dropping off books at the library or turning in homework,” he said.
Some senators want to change parking meter procedures at certain locations. The resolution calls for free meter parking at some locations between the hours of 5:30 p.m. and 8 a.m. The half-hour timers at the west entrance of the Memorial Union should also be changed to two-hour timers, senators say.
The bill’s authors also want to add more half-hour drop-off zones on the outskirts of campus so they can be used during normal class hours.
Many Iowa State students have complained about the expense of campus parking tickets. The resolution asks that the fines administered be lowered to a more “reasonable” level.
The university hands out $12 and $15 parking tickets regularly while the city of Ames tickets rarely crack double digits.
“Twelve dollars for a ticket is outrageous,” Flaherty said. “I think that prices should be lowered to a reasonable price comparable to the city of Ames.”
In addition, the resolution calls for decreasing the number of unauthorized vehicles driven through campus during restricted hours.
It calls on the university to better regulate illegal vehicles on campus.
Loras Jaeger, director of the Department of Public Safety, said DPS has made some concession. He said enforcement has been stopped in the large parking lot west of the Armory Building and parking officials are willing to look at other areas where students feel improvements need to be made.
“There’s a need for closed-in parking and for parking space for visitors,” Jaeger said.
“It is constantly under review, but again it costs money to add more parking space.”