But, Why Parking Citations at UC Davis?
Top 5 Reasons Your Vehicle May Be Cited (and how to avoid it)
Believe it or not, we don’t like to issue parking citations any more than you, Joe/Jane Aggie, like to pay for parking. However, transportation is our job, and managing parking on campus requires that we maintain the risk of a citation. That risk helps to encourage everyone to pay their fair share as well as promote sustainable commuting habits. If you choose to park on campus, we ask one thing--pay to park. If you choose not to, you risk being cited.
Most commonly, we cite vehicles because the vehicles are parked incorrectly, or the driver hasn’t paid for parking. Or sometimes, drivers roll the dice and just ignore all parking regulations. Whatever the reason for the cite, we’d like to share some insight on the top five reasons your vehicle may be cited (and how to avoid it).
Top 5 Reasons Your Vehicle May Be Cited
| RANK | REASON FOR CITATION | HOW TO AVOID |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Parking not paid | Pay for parking with AggiePark via the AMP Park app when you arrive or just prior to your arrival. |
| 2 | Parking paid, vehicle parked in wrong zone | Check posted signs to ensure you are parked in the appropriate parking area. If you find that AMP Park will not accept your payment, it may mean you are not authorized to park in a specific zone. Note: A Zones are for staff only before 5 pm. |
| 3 | Vehicle parked, exceeded max time (for limited 35/70 min parking zones) | When parking in an LT zone, payment must be made through AMP Park. Vehicles may not exceed the posted time limit. |
| 4 | Parked in a restricted area (i.e. red zone, exempt space, ADA stalls, etc.) | Don’t park in restricted areas unless you are explicitly authorized to do so. |
| 5 | Parked in student housing lot | Housing parking lots are only for use by housing residents. All vehicles parked in housing parking lots must have a valid permit for that lot/area. Housing resident visitors must park in visitor parking areas nearby and follow posted permit restrictions. |
- But, what if Transportation Services issues a wrongful ticket? Admittedly, we’re not perfect. We do make errors and we want to correct those errors. So, if you think we’ve written an erroneous citation, please let us know by filing an appeal. If we are wrong, we want to make it right.
- In the event you do receive a citation, you may file an appeal. We are reasonable and if you can provide evidence that the circumstances of your citation should be considered for an appeal, we’re happy to hear you out.
- Please note, the “I didn’t know” excuse is common and doesn’t get much (if any) traction in the appeal process. The parking guidelines are not a secret. To start, read up on our Daily Rates, AggiePark via the AMP Park app, and our Parking Types and Rates and learn what’s going on with parking.
Additionally, remember, when we issue citations, we issue them to vehicles, not people.
Sometimes there are those who feel especially singled out. We’re talking, repeat offenders. We understand that sometimes you may be going through some extraordinary circumstances. Maybe you were temporarily distracted and you didn’t pay for parking. Or, you were in a rush and parked on a lawn (it’s happened). If this is you, submit an appeal, and let’s talk. (See above.)
Why is there parking enforcement at all?
Having and enforcing a parking system is required by the UC Regents and to put it simply - parking helps pay for maintaining the campus transportation infrastructure (roughly 40% of our revenue in a normal year). You pay for parking, we take that money and fix potholes (or other blemishes in our transportation system). We want parking and pathways to be accessible for everyone and when you park on campus, you are paying into that "ecosystem". Likewise, fees related to parking enforcement (i.e. citations) help keep general order in campus lots as well as ensure bike, walk, and roadways have funding to be maintained.
- Disclaimer: At present, some of our "ecosystem" is challenging to maintain due to budget cuts and other ongoing campus improvement projects. There's also other construction going on around campus that's not us.
Writing citations is good for the environment. Read that again. This may feel like a stretch to say, but Transportation Services is committed to stimulating behavior change in a way that can directly and positively impact our environment. How does parking enforcement affect drivers' behavior? Risk of getting cited can dissuade haphazard drivers. We don't want to make driving and parking on campus too much of a favorable commute option, especially for able-bodied commuters living within 5-miles of campus (or living on campus). Rather, we want to be good transportation stewards and that means we must push for a balance of our transportation system. Parking enforcement helps to maintain this balance. Those who need to drive (i.e. disabled individuals, long-distance commuters, medical professionals/students, etc.) should have available parking. Those who have the option not to drive, we recognize the struggle. We hope we can turn at least some of you on to commuting by bike, hopping on a bus, or telecommuting (whatever the viable option may be), which in turn helps to reduce carbon emissions, parking and traffic congestion.
Imagine if we did not enforce parking or issue citations. The word would spread fast and a, Hey-free-parking-mentality, would bring out all the would-be drivers (remember, we don't want that). You'd see campus lots full of vehicles camping out for weeks or months. Our roadways and neighborhood streets would be clogged up with vehicles. And you can forget about clean air and bike-friendly roadways. Cars would be everywhere. Parking enforcement keeps all that at bay and our efforts are meant to shape, to some end, your behavior.
We know sustainable transportation and trust us, it has its challenges to sell. We also understand the role we play in managing parking and carbon emissions and do our part every day to find a reasonable balance. Next time you're sitting in traffic remember, you're not just sitting in traffic, you are traffic. We hope you too can see the role you play in our transportation system and that our efforts help you to be mindful of your commute choices. You may not like that Transportation Services issues citations, but there is a bigger picture here and we're happy to paint it for you.