The summer sun is heating up at the parking and transportation office. The office, which issued a new type of parking tags this semester, is finding that the tags melt in hot cars. This semester an estimated 27,000 parking permits were issued to faculty, staff and students. About 100 were returned because the tags melted. “We have had 100 or so that we have received back and heard complaints from several dozen more,” said Gary Graham, director of the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation. This year the Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation decided to create the parking tags instead of placing a bid with the company that made tags the past several years. “By creating the parking permits ourselves, we ended up with a very nice design and concept. Except for the ones melting, the concept worked well,” Graham said. The permits were designed to withstand up to 192 degrees Fahrenheit, but they begin to soften when temperatures reach above 140 degrees Fahrenheit. Because only a handful of pouches are affected, Graham said the problem may be confined to a limited number. The supplier, Parking ID, is sending the University additional pouches to replace the ones that have melted for no additional charge. They are also working to come up with a different solution that will be more permanent. If the hangtag can no longer be displayed properly, Graham said students should go to the Office of Parking, Traffic and Tranportation to get a new hang tag holder to avoid any problems that may be encountered if there is not a hangtag displayed. “The first day I parked on campus, I got back to my car, and my parking tag had melted, fallen off the rearview mirror and melted on the seat,” said Andrew Dunckelman, political science senior. The Office of Parking, Traffic and Transportation and the supplier of the holders are working closely to find a solution, Graham said, but for now all they can do is replace the ones that have melted. Even students whose parking tag holders did not melt are worried about the situation and continue checking to make sure their parking permit is not melting due to the heat. “My parking tag holder has not melted yet, but I would be upset if it had melted,” said Kristen Bell, undecided freshman.
—–Contact Tara Summers at [email protected]