The issue of having commuters and residents at California Lutheran University parking in one another’s spots has been a problem for years now, according to Campus Safety workers. With parking violations, the recipient is expected to pay fines anywhere from $35 to $50. Failure to pay this fine can result in a hold on their registration.

Sophomore commuter Melanie Downey said she has to get to campus about 30 minutes before class to make sure she gets there  on time. She also received a ticket for not displaying her parking pass correctly earlier in the year.

“I thought it was completely ridiculous, but I had to pay the $35 fine which sucked,” Downey said.

Sophomore resident Marshall Pautsch said even as a resident, parking can be too much to handle sometimes.

“If you don’t get back to campus at a certain time of day, you will be looking for parking for quite a while,” Pautsch said.

Pautsch said he once had to park at the Gilbert Sports Arena parking lot so he could get back to his dorm.

According to the Director of Campus Safety Fred Miller, there were 683 violations in the fall of 2014 as well as 443 warnings. Miller said the most common tickets that are given at Cal Lutheran are no Cal Lutheran permits (mostly visitors to campus), expired permits, parking in visitor only spaces, parking outside a marked parking space, incorrect permit for area parking in, parking in a restricted area during posted hours and parking in a fuel efficient/alternative fuel vehicle only space.

You do have the right to appeal any ticket you receive from campus safety as long as it’s within 10 days of the violation.

“Last fall 113 tickets were appealed, and 51 of those appeals were accepted, and 53 we voided when the infraction was corrected,” Miller said.

If you ever have any question about your ticket, you should either go to the office or call Campus Safety so you can receive an explanation for the violation.

Connor Sipes
Staff Writer
Published March 18th, 2015