Christina Myles
Davis Gamble from Beauregard, a multimedia journalism major who was a sophomore in the spring, successfully appealed a university parking ticket with the help of his smartphone.
Gamble had parked behind the library one afternoon beside a car that was parked in two spaces. This forced Gamble to also park in two spaces, resulting in his parking ticket.
He then made pictures of the cars with his smartphone and took them and his parking ticket to the Traffic Appeals office. This office is inside the Student Government Association office on the second floor of the Trojan Center.
Traffic Appeals Board
“We are most likely to (approve an appeal) if the person has visual evidence as proof,” said Christian Holler, a Traffic Appeals Board committee member.
With around 150 parking tickets given out weekly, hundreds of students each year fill out appeals forms to the Traffic Appeals Board run by the judicial branch of Troy’s SGA.
“The most common appeals we see are for people parking in the wrong zone, in handicap, on a fire line or without a decal,” Holler said.
However, he said appeals for parking in the wrong zone are never successful.
An appeal form has to be filed within 72 hours after a student receives a ticket, and the appeal goes to the committee’s Thursday night meeting.
Students are welcome to come plead their cases, Holler said, but it is not required.
Out of zone
Parking in the wrong zone is one of the main reasons people receive parking tickets, according to John McCall, chief of University Police.
“We ticket on a 24/7 basis, but the most tickets are given out during zone times, which is 7 to 4:30 p.m. on weekdays,” McCall said. “There are no color zones after 5 p.m. during the week because we want to allow students to visit one another. We want to allow boyfriends to see their girlfriends in other dorms and vice versa, as long as they are back in the right zone at 7 the next morning.”
Other reasons people get parking tickets, McCall said, include backing into a parking space or pulling forward into one where the front of the car is facing out; students parking anywhere they feel like parking; and parking without a decal.
“People think just because you have a Troy University plate, then you don’t have to have a decal,” McCall said.
He was referring to custom Troy University license plates issued by the state to people who pay extra when they register their vehicles. The proceeds from these plates help fund the Trojan Pride Scholarship for Troy University students.
“Everyone needs a decal to park on campus; however, people with the Troy plates don’t have to pay for one,” McCall said.
Decals can be purchased from the University Police Department on the first floor of Hamil Hall for $50 per academic year.
Just don’t do it
McCall said people need to be aware of some other facts to avoid parking tickets: if they change housing, they need to change decals; flashers do not exempt anyone from getting a ticket; and if a place is not marked as a parking spot, don’t park there.
“Expect some changes in parking next semester (this fall), though,” McCall said. “Don’t take advice from other students who have already been at Troy because parking is always subject to change, so stay up to date on the parking rules and regulations.”
A pamphlet with a map of parking and all the rules and regulations is given to each student when he or she buys a decal.
For more information about parking, visit http://trojan.troy.edu/universitypolice/trafficparking
.html#Troy.
