September 12, 2016
Ellie Colpitts
The parking tickets under your windshield wiper are more than just a ticket: they’re a sign that your bank funds are about to shrink $20-30.
In the ‘15-‘16 school year, Parking and Transportation Services collected $246,141 in parking ticket payments, amounting to roughly 9,000 tickets.
Since this semester started, around 1,681 tickets have been issued to vehicles on campus.
Revenue from parking tickets is used by parking services to cover operational costs, to pay enforcement officers, develop parking software and distribute parking tickets. Any leftover profit is allocated to the UCCS Family Development Center.
Tickets are written in order to keep students safe, according to Jim Spice, executive director of Parking and Transportation Services.
“We have to write tickets to stay fair. We also have to make sure things stay safe; people could be parked in fire lanes or handicap spots without parking enforcement,” said Spice.
“The first several weeks of the semester, we write many more tickets (than the rest of the year). On the first day it felt as if we were writing tickets for every other car in the lot.”
The FDC received $25,000 from parking services last year that went directly to grants for student-parents, helping them to afford childcare during class.
No administrative fees have been allocated to the FDC, and the center is not supported by state funds, according to Ida Bauer, director of the FDC.
“Our entire budget is used for program expenses such as supplies and food, which is what comes from the parking ticket expenses,” said Bauer.
UCCS cannot use general-fund state money to supply parking services. Parking and transportation at UCCS must be self-sufficient and user-funded.
Fees from parking permits go to the maintenance of existing parking lots, construction of new lots and simple amenities we may take for granted such as snow and trash removal and security efforts.
A significant portion of the income also goes to the construction of the parking garages on campus.
The Gateway Garage cost about $6 million and the Alpine Garage cost $18 million.
To construct a simple fl at parking lot, each space costs $5,000. Each space in a parking garage costs $15,000.
For more information about Parking and Transportation Services, students can go on their website at uccs.edu/pts/parking.