Parking regulations cut out violators

With thousands of people venturing back to Bloomington this fall, finding a parking spot may prove to be a difficult task. \nThe City of Bloomington parking enforcement operations has a program to ensure residents the ability to obtain permits to park in their neighborhoods between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. The ordinance is intended to protect pedestrians, motorists and cyclists from heavy traffic resulting from competing for parking spaces.\nAnyone who resides in a Neighborhood Parking Zone can apply for one permit per vehicle to park in his or her registered neighborhood. To do so, proof of residency is needed in the form of a utility bill, current property tax statement or current lease.\n"The students (and locals) who live in residential neighborhoods need to realize that permits are necessary to park in those areas," said Jack Davis, parking enforcement manager with the City of Bloomington.\nFor the neighborhood zones, permits are on sale for $10 a year. Students can get them with a lease and current vehicle registration.\nThe permits, which must be placed in the lower left corner of the rear window of the vehicle, expire Aug. 15 of each year.\nJunior Doug Evans, who lives off-campus in one of the city's neighborhood zones, likes how the plan works.\n"Sometimes there's problems on the weekends finding spots because of people having parties and everyone wanting to park on the streets," he said. "But it does deter a lot of people from risking getting a ticket, so I usually have a spot when I need one."\nParking violators in these areas are subject to a fine of $12, and those who misuse or abuse the permits are fined $20. Violators can appeal the tickets online or in person at their office at the City Clerk's office at 401 N. Morton St., Room 110.\nDeputy City Clerk Sue Wanzer said the number of appeals the office receives varies depending on the time of year.\n"It really depends," she said. "A rough estimate (on the number of appeals) on a weekly basis ranges anywhere from fifty to seventy a week."\n"The ones that are dismissed, that really depends on the circumstances the appeal is for," she said.\nIn the downtown area, meters are in place in a number of areas and range from 25 to 50 cents an hour between the hours of 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday. \nThere are also time-zone areas downtown where parking is to be of short duration where signs designate the time allotted for patrons to park their cars.\nParking Info\n• To appeal tickets, go to www.city.bloomington.in.us/clerk/Appeals/index.html or go to the City Clerk's office at 401 N. Morton St., Room 110.\n• To find more about parking procedures, such as obtaining permits, appealing tickets or finding parking zones in the area, log on to www.city.bloomington.in.us/parking/.