Online 2002-03 Parking Registration Starts

But campus construction and recent legislative actions have resulted in changes to this year's parking assignment process, officials said.

Registration opened to students at 2 p.m. Monday on the Department of Public Safety's Web site and will be open until May 23.

This stage of registration normally begins on or around April 1, but this year's process was delayed because of miscommunication between student government leaders, said Student Body President Jen Daum. The process still will be open for the same length of time.

Student government determines certain information, like the number of spaces and lots that are available for students before registration can begin, said Cheryl Stout, assistant director of parking services.

Daum and former Student Body President Justin Young said student government used figures from this year's permit allocations to determine the number of spaces different types of students will receive next year.

Parking permits for 2002-03 will be assigned by a random lottery system. Every student who registers for a permit will receive a random number. Students will be assigned a position within their academic class and divided by their status as a commuter or resident.

When they register, students can indicate two choices of lots for which they wish to receive a permit. During the assignment process, DPS awards permits to students based on their first choice. If permits are left over, assignments are made using students' second choice.

But while some aspects of registration remain unchanged this year, others have been affected by recent events. Stout said construction in the Ramshead Lot will mean that students who are issued permits for that lot will only be able to park there until Dec. 31, when the lot will be closed. She said students with S5 permits will not receive new permits.

Stout also said the relocation of visitor parking to Stadium Drive will eliminate all but 12 student parking spaces now available for students in that area.

Changes also will extend to billing and notification processes. Bills will not be mailed to students this year, and students must check the DPS Web site to view the results of the lottery.

To secure their parking permits, students need to print an invoice from the Web site and postmark their payments no later than June 21.

Stout said a new law passed in the N.C. General Assembly makes it necessary for UNC students to provide proof of insurance to buy parking permits.

The statute, which took effect Jan. 2, requires students' vehicles to have minimal levels of liability insurance to purchase permits at any state university.

Vehicles must be insured for at least $30,000 for bodily injury of one person, $60,000 for bodily injury of two or more people and $25,000 for property damage.

While the new restrictions might limit some students' abilities to receive a permit, Daum said she does not think it will have a major impact. "We will have to wait and see," she said. "I don't anticipate that it will make a huge difference."

The University Editor can be reached at udesk@unc.edu.