This is my first one and I'm prett sure I wont have a parking violation again. So should I go ahead and pay this one? I've had friends that say just do it cuz otherwise you can't graduate. I've had other that said it's ok till the third one. So what's your advice people?
if UT parking services is anything like SWT parking services (and i guaran-damn-tee they are), just sack up and pay it. they'll put a hold on just about everything if you don't. bastards. i'm a chronic offender here. every ticket i've gotten since the end of last semester is $150 and they can tow me every time to boot. it's awesome! i'm about to surpass the $1000 mark for my college career. good thing i'm a member of the SWTsig Bank (read: the folks).
Back in the day, the advice was to contest the ticket. This was because they almost always knocked half of the price off. I think I heard they've gotten wise to this game, and now discount the tickets if you pay them early. My advice, pay the ticket.
on the ticket it says after the 4th one they can immobilize your vehicle or something like that. i couldn't register until i paid my 2 tickets off. they're only $25 each time unless you got some weird ticket. i don't think i should've gotten mine (that little piece of the EE lot has no permit marking) but i was too lazy to contest within 12 days. oh, and even though it says pay within 12 days, you can ignore that all the way up until you have to register or something official. i have an A permit and i can't find one damn spot on campus every single day i go. so all i do is park at subway by the CPE. they don't seem to care and the spots are always open. sometimes i get there before they open at 9:30 but there's usually one or two other cars there so it doesn't look too bad. otherwise i park at the double dave's next door if it's after they open at 11. i used to park at a church down the street where they have open spaces galore, but some custodian type dude always seemed to see me and say i couldn't park there. that sucked.
schedule an appeal with the parking office...always would get it knocked off atleast half the price...worked everytime..
I actually live 10 - 15 min walking from campus so if I have to walk more than a block, it makes no sense for me to drive. I guess I'm just too lazy and I just don't like walking too much at night when the IF buses stop making rounds. But seriously, what the heck is up with ENS, the parking lot is full from 8 p.m. - 2 a.m. everynight. The better question is why am I there almos every night
I hear parking is really screwed up now. I remember when you could actually find surface parking at night without a permit and that was 2 years ago. I miss the Jester Parking Lot
how much were the tickets? saving 12.50 on a 25 dollar ticket just isn't enough for me to schedule an appeal, and then show up and do whatever you have to do. i'd rather just pay. last year i lived 10 minutes walking from campus so i always walked. i think i actually prefer the 15 to 20 minute drive just because walking a half mile to and from school can be extremely annoying if you're not in the mood for it (like say after a long test) or if it's 100 degrees outside. however, having to account for possible traffic problems and parking means i usually leave almost 30 minutes earlier than i would have had to last year. so that sucks b/c i lose 30 minutes of sleep each day. although today i set a record by being seated in class 24 minutes after i woke up. i got ready and drove so fast. i could barely see out of my tired ass eyes. i can get CPE parking no problem starting at about 5 or so. it's still pretty full but there's 9 or 10 spots by then. however, san jacinto is still packed at that time. it's packed up through 9 or so most nights. during the day, surface parking is impossible. i mean, i have literally driven to like 6 or 7 A permit lots before and not found a single spot. it's amazing. and this is at like 9 in the morning. so that's why i just gave up and started parking at subway. if they ever tow me i'll be pissed b/c i actually do get lots of sandwiches there.
When I was in college, I switched cars one semester, so I didn't have a parking tag. I'd just back into the space so the cop wouldn't go around the car and see if I had a tag. Well, one day I got a ticket. I paid it. But then what I started doing is putting that ticket on the windshield if I had a bad feeling that I might get a ticket that day. That way the cop would see the ticket, assume someone else nailed me, and move on. Went for like 5 months like that, no problems!
If your car is registered with the school than pay it. If not ignore it. If the car is not registered with the school then they can't associate the ticket with you. At least that's how UH works as UHPD system can't pull up texas registration information. At least that's how it worked for me. NO holds or anything.
I feel your pain... or at least I did until I graduated in '02. It's probably even worse now, as it tended to get worse every year. I used to know where every "A" lot was and make the rounds, seeing if anything would open up. It's not even worth trying at 9 a.m. Usually I'd come in later - if I could get away with it, I'd try to hit it right at 11:00 when the first batch of people start leaving or going to lunch. About once a week and/or when I had to be there earlier, I'd just get there extremely early (about 7:00) to get parking and also avoid the worst of rush hour. Then I'd just sit around playing on the Internet or "studying" with my eyes closed on the couch. If I couldn't find a place, I'd just park in the neighborhood, though they started taking those away too. When I was there the side streets like 34th around (Speedway? was that it?) were still OK. Just park in front of somebody's house and settle in for the nice long walk. Or ride the IF bus in. Things I do not miss...
The ticket contesting process is now web based, so you should do it online to save time. I did it a couple of years ago, when I got my last one. If you don't take action, they place a bar on your registration.
Oh damn. That is effing classic. It's like those guys that have a dummy in the passenger side while driving the carpool lane.
if i had continued to park in that area that's what i was gonna start doing but i balied before putting that into effect. subway is closer anyway. yeah, that's what i was told by people when i got the permit but then my early classes each day start at 9:30 and 10 so i have no choice. i always check the cpe lot each day and once every 2 or 3 weeks a spot just happens to be open but when they're not it's just a quick turn left to subway or double dave's. double dave's has plenty of spaces so i don't worry about them noticing me. they just open too late for most days. subway only has about 8 spots but if you park far enough to the left it's not in view from the inside so it's all good. i parked there 2 days ago and as i did, someone parked beside me and got out, looked to see if they were looking, then headed for campus. nice to know i'm not alone. it does always feel weird when people are walking along the sidewalk looking at me and i just get out of my car, put on my backpack and head for school after parking at subway. oh well, such is the life of a UT commuter.
If you got to the Trinity Garage and to the UT parking and transportation office, you can fill out a form to appeal the ticket. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesnt. I was caught in the 30 mins zone parked too long, so i just said i moved my car from one spot to another and the meter maid must have not noticed. They accepted it and i got off. I think you should try it since its your first ticket.
