Last fall, the Parking Office stopped booting cars after it was revealed by the Campus Times that it had been ignoring a city of Rochester ordinance that made the practice illegal. Since then, parking enforcement officers have resorted to aggressive ticketing in an attempt to control those who continue to abuse the parking system. However, not only have parking infringements increased, but more tickets are also going unpaid and many students have accrued numerous violations.
This perturbing trend is unacceptable. Even though the Parking Office failed to take responsibility for its previous unlawful behavior, students should not respond in kind. Disregarding such rules places additional stress on the limited spaces available to members of UR. If students continue to ignore parking policies, they offer little incentive for the Parking Office to accommodate student needs.
The Parking Office has already made strides in addressing this issue compared to the booting scandal, though. This past Thursday, Vice President of Facilities Richard Pifer met with a group of students to tackle the difficulty. Although Parking was able to gain back the right to boot after negotiations with the city, Pifer is taking steps to see if there are alternatives. This initiative is highly appreciated and shows a respect for student input. The Parking Office should consider expanding the number of available short-term parking spots to alleviate the problem of increased ticketing – 90-minute spaces would be ideal to accommodate the length of a class period.
On-campus parking is difficult to come by, but that does not give students the prerogative to exploit the system. It is time for students to become mature citizens, comply with parking regulations and pay up.
