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Parking
crunch seen by committee “I realize I’m guilty, but...” Fred Oberkircher, chairman of the traffic regulations and appeals committee, said he hears students say this almost weekly in traffic appeals meetings. While there are 7,218 parking spots available on campus, according to the TCU Parking Plan published Nov. 9, 2001 by the Facilities Department of the Physical Plant, many students find those spots inconvenient and instead may choose to park illegally. Police records indicate 4,185 commuter parking permits were issued for the 2001-2002 school year, while there are only 1,697 spaces available to them on the east side of campus.
TCU Police Chief Steve McGee said 143 parking spots were lost over the holiday break as construction began on the Sarah and Steve Smith Entrepreneurs Hall. As a result, the parking crunch has increased and students may be tempted to park illegally. The traffic regulations and appeals committee will be the ones to hear students complaints if they are ticketed. The committee consists of 10 faculty, 10 staff and five students who hear approximately 40 appeals a week, Oberkircher said. In addition to hearing appeals, the committee also make recommendations about on-campus parking. “The appeals process is the only opportunity students have to express their thoughts on the parking issue,” Oberkircher said. “My guess would be that out of 1,000 appeals, 100 are found not guilty,” Oberkircher said. He said the review committee is lenient on violators the committee feels made an honest mistake or did not understand the parking regulations. Oberkircher, a professor of design merchandising and textiles, has been a part of this committee for four years. TCU Police said in order to appeal a ticket, the offender must bring the ticket to the TCU Police Department and fill out a form. Karl Kruse, a sophomore political science major, is a student on the appeals committee. Kruse said he coordinated a parking forum last fall in which over 300 parking surveys were collected. “I always hear students who are appealing their tickets say ‘there’s no parking at TCU,’” Kruse said. “But I know differently.” Kruse said there is plenty of parking at TCU. “There are always parking spaces (adjacent to) the stadium,” Kruse said. Oberkircher and Kruse said the appeals committee is often more lenient with commuter students. “Commuter students are the most disenfranchised group when it comes to parking,” Oberkircher said. “My dream is to get commuters off the streets and onto university lots.” Anthony
Kirchner |
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TCU Daily Skiff © 2002 |
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