DPS to Target Illegal Parking In UNC Hospitals Lot, Deck

With increased patrols and citations, officials hope to deter University students and employees from filling lots like the Ambulatory Care Center Visitors' lot and the Dogwood parking deck on Manning Drive.

About 200 to 250 of the 1,672 parking spaces in the Dogwood deck and 50 to 75 of the 299 spots in the ACC lot are taken away daily from hospital patients and visitors by illegal parking, said Cheryl Stout, assistant director of parking services.

"People don't understand that it's a problem," Stout said. "They think, 'I'm just one car,' but it adds up very quickly."

In addition to fliers posted this week, DPS sent out an e-mail to students and employees warning them that enforcement officers will increase license plate checks to ensure that owners are affiliated with UNC Hospitals.

Tickets will be issued, and vehicles will be towed if they are found in violation. Since September, 64 citations for affiliations have been issued in the ACC lot and 16 have been issued in the Dogwood deck. Stout said this number could go up dramatically when DPS officials begin more strictly enforcing parking.

"We are not dying to write tickets," Stout said. "We just need that parking for patients and visitors."

Stout stressed the need to free space in the parking decks because of UNC's parking deficit. "We do not have anywhere to roll over patients to," she said.

Officials said the shortages increase in bad weather because some drivers want to park as close as possible to their destination to keep out of the cold, rainy weather.

Resident students who use the Dogwood deck as a garage and store their cars there for days on end also are to blame for the problem.

Waiting lists for the S-11 and PR parking lot permits have been lifted and are available to commuting and resident students, except for freshmen, who cannot receive a parking permit.

DPS officials also said they understand that there are some times when resident students will have their cars for only a temporary amount of time because of certain circumstances.

They urge students to visit or call the DPS cashier and apply for a temporary parking permit rather than park illegally and take the space of a hospital patient.

"We are quite helpful," Stout said. "We try to help students as best as we can. We understand that students are not going to buy a permit if they only need to park for a few days."

Students and employees who have an appointment in the hospital facilities are allowed to park at either the ACC lot or in the Dogwood deck. As long as they leave an appointment slip on their car's dashboard, their vehicles will not be ticketed.

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