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Parking and Transportation Services is reminding all drivers that the winter parking ban is now in effect. Starting Nov. 1 and lasting until May 1, the winter parking ban prevents cars from parking in visitor, staff or commuter lots from midnight until 6 a.m.
Non-resident students can park their cars in the College Ave. South lot, across the street from the Buchanan Alumni House. Resident students can continue to park their cars in designated red lots. Residents will be warned with signs and FirstClass announcements three days before lots need to be cleared for snow removal.
“It’s important you don’t park your car and forget about it,” said Alan Stormann, assistant director for Parking and Transportation.
Visitors should be reminded of these rules to avoid citations. Visitors to campus should get a temporary visitor pass from Public Safety, the Buchanan Alumni House or the Student Service Center in the Memorial Union.
If a car is found in violation, the driver will be given a $25 citation and will have their vehicle towed. If the car is not picked up within 24 hours, there will be a storage fee added to the initial towing fee.
“There is no safe night to park illegally,” Stormann added.
With the large amount of snow in the past week, the winter parking ban has recently been enforced. However, Stormann noted there were far fewer violations during the first storm compared to last year.
The first storm of 2006 found 66 cars in violation, compared with 22 cars this year. “People are making an effort to do the right thing,” Stormann said.
“The parking situation after storms is fairly difficult. This again all depends on what lots you can park in, if your car can go through any amount of snow,” said Carrie Couturier, a resident driver.
The parking ban may be inconvenient, but Stormann said that it can’t always be about immediate convenience.
In the winter months, it may seem difficult to find a parking spot.
“The bottom line is: we have adequate parking,” he said.
“It’s often hard to get a spot within a reasonable distance unless you get to campus extremely early,” said Dylan Cayer, a commuter driver.
“On most days, I spend about five to 10 minutes looking for a parking spot. However, arriving on a Sunday night on campus, or especially late on any given night, this time may be multiplied a few times,” Couturier added.
Commuter and faculty drivers are encouraged to call 581-INFO, a program maintained by Parking and Transportation Services, to get updates about parking availability on campus. Updated at 9 a.m., 10 a.m., 11 a.m. and 1 p.m., the automated services tells drivers how many spots are available in certain lots on campus. These numbers are computed by parking service employees who periodically inventory the lots.
If no convenient parking is available after dark or any time a person feels uncomfortable, emergency call boxes are located throughout campus. With a call to the box, drivers can request a walking companion to where they need to walk or can call Public Safety to escort them.
A full list of snow removal schedules, rules and regulations and lot closings and updates can be found at the Parking and Transportation Services Web site: www.umaine.edu/parking/default.htm.
