Demystifying parking

Visit the college Web site's Current Students' section and nestled between Information Technology and the Registrar on the sidebar is a link to the campus's parking policy. The rules have not always been so accessible, however, which has led to a lot of confusion over parking policies.

According to Parking Court Chair Andrew Lichtenberg, "Previously, [the parking rules] were buried deep in the Web site." Now, they are easy to find if a student needs information, but the clarity of the rules is still questionable.

The first step of legally parking on campus is registration. At the beginning of each academic year, a registration center is set up in Case Center on the first day of orientation. After that time, registration can be completed by going to Campus Safety in the Jonsson Tower basement or by filling out a form online.

The process is simple, requiring only your Skidmore ID, the vehicles registration information and a $100 annual fee if you are residing on campus. Students who live off-campus must still register their cars to park on campus during the day, but do not pay any fee. Registered drivers receive a decal for their car.

Registering a vehicle does not allow you to park anywhere on campus, however. Most parking violations are the result of not following the rules of when and where a student can park on campus, not unregistered vehicles.

A common discrepancy is parking in the wrong lot. Lots on campus are divided into two categories: overnight and commuter. Students who live on campus are not allowed to park in commuter lots between the hours of 3 a.m. and 6 a.m. Commuter lots include the Case Center, Jonsson Tower, Sports Center, Dance Theater, North Hall and Palamountain lots, as well as all of the parallel parking spaces on Perimeter road.

Students who live in Northwoods or Scribner Village are only allowed to park in lots designated for their apartment complexes between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. This point of the policy becomes particularly troublesome for Northwoods and Scribner residents who injure themselves and are unable to walk to campus for classes. If this occurs, students should speak to Health Services to receive special permission to park in campus lots during the day.

The parking policy available on the Skidmore Web site does not articulate what should happen if a Northwoods or Scribner resident injures him or herself. "It's one of the least known rules," Lichtenberg said. "And probably the most common reason for tickets [successfully being fought] in Parking Court.

Parking Court is available to students who believe they were unfairly ticketed for a parking violation. The steps for appealing are detailed on the back of each parking ticket.The court is a commonly used resource for students, with around 60 tickets being appealed this past semester. Lichtenberg is one of three Student Government Association senators in charge of parking appeals.

When an appeal is put in using the online form, the court reviews the students claim, the report put in by the ticketing officer, as well as the parking history of the student. In the rare case that a ticket is issued without a violation, the court will hold that the student is not responsible for its payment. Injured Northwoods and Scribner residents are often not held accountable for their parking violations because the rule is not clear.

Clarity of the campus parking policy is a longstanding problem that students frequently complain about. Lichtenberg believes confusion over the parking policy has more to do with a lack of access to the information, not the clarity of the rules. "They're definitely not complicated," he said. "It's just a matter of reading the rules. They're fair."