Students who risk parking in restricted spots around campus hoping to avoid being ticketed may need to get bolder.
By August 15, parking fines and permit prices are going to increase.
“We are coming up on the fourth year of the five-year increase for parking permits, and we’re coming up on the second year of a three-year increase on parking ticket fines,” said Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation.
Parking ticket fines for having no parking tag will increase from $15 to $30. Out-of-zone ticket fines will increase from $10 to $14, and students unlawfully parked in a handicap zone will pay a fine of $150, increasing from $50.
Annual parking permits for the fall and spring semesters will increase from $75 to $87, and single-semester permits will increase from $38 to $44.
“We are phasing them in so that they don’t hit everybody at one time,” Graham said.
With increased prices, students will have to be more mindful of where they park. This may become easier once construction to the campus parking lots are complete. Once opened, the parking lots will offer up to 800 additional parking spots.
Students driving down Nicholson Extension may have noticed the Patrick F. Taylor parking lot – one of the biggest on campus – is still incomplete. This parking lot, which was originally scheduled to be opened by April – and then rescheduled for June 5 – is nearing completion.
“Hopefully we’ll have it back in a couple of weeks,” Graham said of the Patrick F. Taylor lot. “The problem was the river, the limestone that was needed to make the asphalt was on barges and the coast guard wouldn’t let the barges move until the river went down below flood stage.”
But Vincent Dipuma of Industrial Enterprises, the company hired for contracting, expects it to take longer.
“It will probably be about another 30 to 45 days,” Dipuma said.
The Remote Shuttle lot and the Acadian Hall lot will also be ready by August, said Graham.
“We’ve got a gravel lot that’s over by [Graham] Residential College,” Graham said. “As soon as we get the lights in, we’ll open it up.”
While there will be more open parking lots by the fall semester, students will no longer be able to park in the Kirby Smith lot.
“The lot in front of Kirby Smith is being used by the LSU Health Care Services Division. They have moved in, and they will be there for about a year,” Graham said.
Many students, faculty and staff have adjusted to the Easy Street gates implemented this past summer.
“I think it’s been very advantageous to the traffic flow. I know there’s been a huge problem just getting to class and around campus,” said Justin Sanders, political science junior.
Yet some campus visitors still struggle with the system. Graham acknowledged that problems arise when there are many visitors on campus. He noted the regional and super regional tournaments hosted by the LSU baseball team as two problematic times. He said these problems occur only a couple times a year and are unavoidable.
“I have an obligation to the staff, faculty and students first and foremost, more so than the baseball fans coming out here,” Graham said.
Despite its periodic problems, Graham considers Easy Streets to be a great success.
“On a scale of one to 10, overall it’s a 9.5 out of 10,” he said.
Within the next year there should also be progress towards the construction of the first of several proposed parking garages, all part of the 2003 Campus Master Plan. “Parking is horrible here. It’s about time. They should have done this 10 years ago,” said graduate student Lauren Cook.
—-Contact Tyler Harvey at [email protected]