Students could pay thousands in late city parking fines

Some students don't pay for parking tickets they receive from the city of Bloomington because they think they won't be taken to court. They're wrong.\n"We do pursue unpaid tickets to the court level," Manager of Parking Enforcement for Bloomington Jack Davis said.\nSome students don't seem to realize this or don't care.\n"There are a handful of students owing $700 or more in unpaid parking tickets," Parking Ticket Appeals Officer Alicia Ayers said.\nOn the Bloomington Parking Enforcement's list of repeat offenders there is one student who has received 35 citations from Sept. 9 to Jan. 25. That student owes a total of $1,040 in fines.\nThe city's legal department takes 50 people with parking violations to court each month, Davis said. Those offenders who are taken to court must pay a $109 court fee whether their cases are dismissed or not. Davis said he cannot remember any cases where parking violations were not upheld in court.\nFines and a court appearance are not the only punishment for repeat offenders. According to a city ordinance, Bloomington Police Department can tow someone who has 10 or more outstanding tickets with four of those being 60 days old or more, Supervisor of Parking Enforcement Raye-Ann Cox said.\n"Parking enforcement only operates from 6:30 a.m. \nto 5 p.m. Monday through \nSaturday," Cox said. "But BPD \noperates 24/7."\nAn outstanding parking ticket will also keep people ineligible to purchase a parking permit from the city of Bloomington until that ticket is paid, Davis said.\nAnyone who believes they have received a parking ticket in error can either appeal online at www.bloomington.in.gov or in person at the Office of the City Clerk, 402 N. Morton, Suite 110.\nThe appeals office hears about 5,500 parking ticket appeals a year, and many of the people that come in are students, Ayers said. Being nice makes a difference in the appeals process because Ayers has known the legal department to set up payment plans and sometimes even cut fines in half.\n"Some people come in and cuss up a storm," Ayers said. "They won't work with you then."\nThe majority of people receive tickets because they fail to read signs, but "left side park" is an Indiana state law that applies everywhere, even where signs are not posted, Ayers said. The left side park law requires all vehicles to be parked on the right side of the road in the direction they are facing.\nStudents should also check out parking situations before they sign a lease, Cox said. Some residences, especially downtown, do not provide places to park, which leaves students fending for themselves when it comes to parking, Cox added.\nAyers advises students, especially those from different states, to research parking laws before parking in Bloomington.\n"If you don't have a lot of extra money, take the precautions to prevent yourself from getting tickets," Ayers said.