Parking rules have not changed, but parking authority has, and students believe the signs should as well.
Students are confused by parking regulations because of distribution of information, parking rules and signs, parking pass purchases, and ticket payment and appeals.
Distribution of information
“It is state law that vehicles parked on campus have a parking permit,” Campus Security Director Don Reid said. “Every semester, security gives students a two-week grace period.”
Security used to set up booths on campus so students could buy their parking permits and hand out pamphlets.
Tamron Lee, head of the parking appeals committee, doesn’t think students should be surprised they are being ticketed.
“Student parking is normally addressed in new student orientation,” Lee said.
Erin Dockstader, a junior medical radiography major from Ogden, said there should be another way to pass along the information.
“They say it’s addressed in new student orientation, but not all of us are new students,” Dockstader said. “That’s only one year and one class—just for the freshmen. What about the juniors and seniors? We aren’t always carrying around a student handbook.”
Recently there has been a parking website in the banner on the Dixie website and posters put up on bulletin boards across campus referring to www.dixie.edu/parking.
Carlene Holm, the revenue director over parking permit sales, said students have been offered a pamphlet when they buy a parking permit.
However, the attendant in the arena box office ran out of pamphlets last week. There are no plans to replenish the brochures, and the attendant is referring students to the website.
Parking rules and signs
DSU purchased the streets within the boundaries of campus. This means they are also ticket-able.
Reid said the exterior streets bordering campus are OK to park on without a parking permit.
The inner streets of 300 South, 900 East, 800 East and 400 South until they hit the exterior 900 East require a parking permit, said Reid.
Dustin Merrill, a junior communication major from Idaho Falls, Idaho, said he was not aware of street parking regulations.
“I have never been ticketed on 800 East to 600 South,” Merrill said. “They need to have signs up. Because it’s a street, you think it is public.”
Signs, or lack of, at the entrances of parking lots on campus can also lead to a misunderstanding.
Faculty parking lot signs say, “Faculty Staff Parking only.” Some lots’ signs say, “DSU parking permit required.”
The parking lot next to the Burns Arena reads, “No parking outside of stalls. Violators will be ticketed,” therefore confusing students.
Dockstader has parked in the lot next to the Burns Arena for about a year and has never been ticketed until recently.
“If there’s not a sign, I’m going to assume I can park there,” Dockstader said. “Why would anyone assume that you couldn’t park there?”
She said there are other campus parking lots that students have assumed were free because there are no signs stating a permit is required, such as the Bruce Hurst Baseball Complex and Hansen Stadium parking lots.
Having a permit does not mean a student is in the clear. Open parking stalls for anyone with a permit are marked in white on the inner campus streets and in the lots.
All faculty, staff, emergency vehicle, golf cart, fleet vehicle and visitor parking are marked in yellow and are off limits to students.
According to the parking website, all city, county and state motor vehicle laws remain enforced on campus. This means you may be ticketed and/or arrested for breaking any of the laws.
Purchasing a parking pass
The system of parking pass sales changed July 15, Holm said.
Parking passes are now sold online and at the Burns Arena ticket windows on the east side of the building.
There are signs posted above the ticket windows informing potential pass buyers that credit cards are not taken after 3 p.m. and parking passes are also sold online.
The signs do not inform buyers, especially those who do not want to wait in line, that passes bought online must be picked up at the Burns Arena.
Ticket payment and appeals
Another form of confusion comes because of outdated information on payment and appeals on the back of the parking tickets.
According to the current parking tickets, fines are paid to security or online. This is no longer valid information.
Tickets are now paid online at or the Burns Arena but, remember, credit cards at the arena are not taken after 3 p.m.
The outdated tickets also direct all appeals to the security office. This includes visitors.
Security is informing anyone who comes in or mails in a ticket that appeals are submitted online, but that didn’t solve the problem for everyone.
According to the tickets, visitors are null and void of the parking permit requirement and are subject to an appeal.
A ticket could not be submitted for an appeal unless the required field of student ID was filled, thus not allowing visitors to make an appeal, said Reid.
Lee said the student ID field was no longer required.
Security has ordered new tickets, but they have not arrived.
