Park Appropriately

A few weeks ago, I arrived early to one of my classes and overheard a few comments which are common on campus. A tall, blonde girl stood ahead of me talking to her friend. Her voice carried quite well, and many people could hear her. She said, “Guess who got a ticket… ME! And it cost $250!!!” After this, I leaned over to a friend and whispered, “I bet she parked in a handicapped parking space.” Not thirty seconds after saying this, she said, “I parked in a handicapped space, but I had my flashers on! I had just gone into my dorm for a minute!”

Quite often, I encounter people who have parked in handicapped spaces in the parking lot next to the Blount Living-Learning Center. Every time I see this happen, it makes me mad. Why is such a small thing so hard? Handicapped parking spaces are clearly marked with blue paint and signs, yet people without proper permits “idle” in them. Many leave their cars running with emergency lights flashing, expecting to be excused from a ticket. The fact is that parking in a handicapped space is rude! Those spaces are marked off for a reason.

Putting all of this aside, parking in a handicapped space is dumb for other reasons. Parking in the grass carries a fine of $25 on the first offense. Even parking in a Tow Away zone only carries a fine of $50! I would personally be less annoyed if you were idling in another area which was out of the way of traffic, AND you would save $200! I encourage everyone to look at the website for parking on campus. Please, ladies and gentlemen, find a proper parking space to idle in, or park out of the way of traffic, but please do not park in handicapped spaces! Maybe next time you won’t have a $250 ticket to deal with.