With a large volume of students and staff at SUNY Brockport, parking has been a topic of conversation for years, yet, many people still have questions about how things work.While the situation may never be perfect, important steps are being taken to make the parking situation more manageable for everyone involved.
According to SUNY Brockport Parking Systems Specialist Chris Martinez, Parking and Transportation Services’ top priority is clear communication with students.
“Parking and Transportation Services place a lot of emphasis on communicating to the campus community on how to be successful parkers,” Martinez said. “Our aim is to ensure the proper information is shared and learned to lessen any confusion and frustration allowing our students to better focus on their academics and campus life offerings.”
Parking services uses a variety of platforms to communicate with the student body, such as social media or emails and Martinez encourages students to stay up to date and reach out if needed.
One of the biggest questions students may have is: Where does the money from parking tickets go?
“Parking and Transportation Services is a self-supporting department on campus,” Martinez said. “This means that no tuition or state funds are used to financially support the services we provide. Fees from permits and citations cover costs, including all improvements to the conditions of the parking lots, maintenance of lots, and the creation of new lots.”
The department also puts the money towards facility equipment, personnel, special projects, signage, supplies and salaries.
Electric vehicles are also a hot topic, as charging stations are slowly becoming more popular and their presence on campus is soon to grow.
“We are excited to have 2 more charging stations coming soon,” Martinez said. “They will be installed in the Allen Loop and Lot O. We currently have 3 dual-port charging stations available in lots V, N, and G1.”
Although the chargers are always available for usage, Martinez emphasized that it is still required to have a SUNY Brockport parking pass.
While a parking ticket may seem like a small inconvenience, students should be aware of the consequences of a ticket left unpaid. Acquiring too many parking tickets within a period of time may also put their academics in jeopardy.
“SUNY policy mandates that a hold be applied to any student account wherein a delinquent account balance exists,” Martinez said. “This hold bars the student from receiving current and future course registration and other privileges. The hold cannot be appealed and will remain in effect until the outstanding balance, or other requirement, has been fulfilled. SUNY regulations prevent us from allowing you to register until your existing account balance has been paid in full.”
While account holds may frustrate students, Parking and Transportation Services are hopeful that increased communication and understanding of policies can bring about a more informed and synchronous relationship with students.
