From August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010 17,866 vehicles parked
on campus recieved parking tickets like the ones above.
Esteban Cortez / The Collegian

Fresno State students currently pay more in parking fees than other students attending state universities in California, while receiving less alternative transportation services.

Documents released by Fresno State to The Collegian in May reveal that the average parking fee for state universities in California is $38. Fresno State students currently pay $50. This pattern continues for almost all parking violations, with the exception of disabled and red curb red zone violations, which are $2 below the regular fine.

A proposal to increase parking violation fees was decided by the “faculty senate, the cabinet among other groups,” Public Information Officer and Parking Administrator Amy Armstrong said.

“They did go through campus to get feedback, showed the range across the CSU system and made proposals of what should be implemented at Fresno State and that is how they came about the amount,” Armstrong added.

There are 11 types of parking fines given at Fresno State. From August 1, 2009 to July 31, 2010 the university gave 17, 866 parking tickets, which has led to $493,045 in revenue.

The University Police Department expects to receive a new net income of $725,240.

The money collected “goes into a trust fund and that money goes to alternative transportation,” Armstrong said.

“[California State University,] Northridge has a trolley to get from class to class. A bunch of other schools have those. Not this school though,” Fresno State freshman Katie Chidgey said.

New transportation programs have not yet been developed but some are being considered.

“We are looking at alternative transportation programs, how they are utilized and how to get more people to participate,” Armstrong added.

“We want to increase car poolers, ride sharing and reduce the number of vehicles on campus. We want to increase the number of bike riders and people who walk,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong plans to conduct a survey to hear suggestions and comments from Fresno State students.

The survey will try to gather information about possible incentives and student transportation needs.

“We are not trying to write tickets,” Armstrong said.” The chief always says, ‘The best problem I could ever have is, if this week I didn’t have to write a parking ticket,’” Armstrong added.

She hopes students will remember to “pay, park and display” to prevent receiving a ticket.

Fresno State student Omar Ramirez prefers to avoid all parking fees and park across the street from the university.

“I would rather walk than spend my money on a parking pass,” Ramirez said.

When asked if students will receive forgiveness services such as students from California State University, Fullerton, Cal Poly Pomona and others do, Armstrong responded that Fresno State does not provide that service.

Students who appeal their ticket need to provide proof the ticket was given unjustly.

“It’s best to explain everything as clearly as possible why the citation is given wrongfully and any support documentation that would help your case,” Armstrong said.

“There is one person in our department who has been through all the training,” Armstrong added. “It will be up to that person’s decision to review that material and decide whether the citation is valid or not and if it should be upheld or not.”

When asked if there were guidelines as to what citation would be forgiven, Armstrong responded that each case is looked at individually and that the one person looks at all the disputes so there is consistency.

When asked if The Collegian could speak to this Fresno State parking supervisor, Armstrong denied the request.

“I handle all the communication for parking. The lieutenants handle everything for police,” Armstrong said. “That is the way the chief has set it for the past five or six years that I have been here.”

“His reason is that we have one clear consistent message,” added Armstrong.

“So he knows what is being said. That’s the way he like to operate, the way he has operated the department the whole time he has been here.”