A Park ‘N Pony parking violation sits under a windshield wiper outside of Fondren Library Thursday evening. (Casey Lee)
It has been a long night; you just spent the last four hours studying in Fondren Library, and all you want to do is go home and crash. It is dark outside and as you head to your car, the first thing you see is this yellow contraption that looks like a torture device latched to your tire.
Many students on campus have violated parking rules and find themselves facing multiple ticket violations, or even a boot. According to the Park ‘N Pony Web site, although thousands of parking spots are available, students are not guaranteed a spot. While some students are not aware of SMU’s parking policies, the university’s policy states that ignorance is no excuse when breaking the rules.
After accumulating a certain amount of citations, some students may find a boot on their vehicle and may not be familiar with how to correct the issue or even why they were booted. SMU sophomore Leah Gibson is one of those students.
“I had received three parking tickets over the course of the year that I hadn’t paid yet, so when I parked in Airline Garage, because I had over two parking tickets which were unpaid, I got booted,” Gibson said.
According to SMU parking policies, two different processes exist for booting. Director of Parking and ID Services, Mark Rhodes, said cars without parking permits receive boots. Those who have been cited on two previous occasions are also immobilized on the third parking violation in order to identify the owner, Rhodes said.
Rhodes said the second process is for habitual violators.
“Vehicles that have been previously cited five times within the academic year are cited and immobilized on the subsequent sixth through 10th violations,” Rhodes said. “After 10 [citations] you are considered a chronically habitual violator and are subject to tow.”
One SMU sophomore discovered a boot on his car one morning and explains his situation.
“I didn’t have a parking permit and I went to my car one morning and it was booted. It’s kind of frustrating,” Dan Falkin said. “I already got two tickets and in addition to getting booted, I got one for not having a permit on top of that.”
SMU Park ‘N Pony relocated to the Expressway Towers last fall from the Hughes-Trigg Student Center. The relocation has inconvenienced students regarding the process of paying for fines and removing boots.
In order to get the boots taken off, students must pay for their fines either online through their student account or at Student Financials at the Laura Lee Blanton Building. Due to relocations, students must go to the Park ‘N Pony office and talk to the clerk so that identification and payment is verified and the boot can be taken off.
Fortunately for students like Leah Gibson and Dan Falkin, they have friends who were willing to drive them to the Park ‘N Pony office.
Gibson explains that her car received a boot for not being registered under her name. After solving the issue with Park ‘N Pony, all of the fines were transferred to her student account so she could pay for them.
“Then they walkie-talkied the parking attendant to take the boot off my car,” Gibson said.
Although booting and multiple citations are frustrating to most students, Mark Rhodes explains the benefit to these processes.
“With immobilization we have an opportunity to find out from vehicle owners what parking difficulties they are encountering and we can educate them and provide them the resources they need to avoid future parking citation while on campus,” Rhodes said. “We strive to interrupt violation patterns so individuals do not continue to accumulate large outstanding financial obligations to the university.”
Rhodes also acknowledges the problems the office relocation has caused for students who must visit the office. A new process is currently in the works to make issues with parking more convenient for students and faculty.
“The new process will not require an in-person visit. We can handle it all over the telephone,” Rhodes said.
SMU Park ‘N Pony enforces permitted parking only during their office hours Monday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Fridays from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
“After hours, we aren’t here. The SMU Police will ticket for major infractions, such as handicap parking or parking in the fire lane,” Rhodes said.
Fines for parking violations range from $25-$300 and boots cost $60. Students can pay for their fines through their student account or appeal their citations by visiting the Park ‘N Pony Web site and submitting the form online. Students only have 15 calendar days to appeal their citations.
The Park ‘N Pony office does not accept cash payments. For more information call 214.768.PARK or visit parknpony.smu.edu.
