Despite the construction of a new parking garage in Hanover and continuing efforts by the Student Assembly to improve the parking fines system, student car owners should not expect to see a change in parking options any time soon.
According to the most recent draft of the master plan, the College allocates 1,102 parking spaces for 1,661 students with registered cars.
Of that number, more than half are supplied by the houses of the Coed Fraternity and Sorority Council, which charge about three or four times more than the $11 per term fee for school lots, according to William Barr, associate director of administrative services.
"We have parking we are currently not using. There's no need to add any," Barr said. "If we need to accommodate more, we would accommodate."
The parking policy forbids students to park outside of student lots except from 6 p.m. on Fridays through 2 a.m. on Mondays and between 6 p.m. and 2 a.m. on any weekdays.
The student lots are A-Lot, HJ-Lot, and K-Lot, which hold 350, 203 and 89 parking spaces, respectively.
Parking Operations handles all parking violations independent of Safety and Security. A staff of four issues all Dartmouth tickets.
Currently, parking fines for students start at $50 for the first two violations in core parking areas and $25 for all other areas. If more than two violations accumulate within one school year the fines double.
Core areas include Mass Row, Butterfield, Dartmouth Row and gym lots.
The parking fine policy for students is more stringent than that for faculty and staff.
The Student Assembly's Fines Proposal drafted last summer quotes one student, "The parking fines really annoy me ... especially since there are two different scales for profs and students."
It also reports, "In terms of specific categories of fines, students seemed to feel they were most wronged by those levied for parking violations."
"There's a lack of parking for everybody," Barr said "We have to come to work, we work here. Students have an opportunity to put their cars in parking lots and not compete with the commuting population."
"The parking fines are ridiculous. They don't prevent people from illegally parking," said David Parker '00, an organizer of the report.
The Fines Proposal endorses changing first time violation fees to between $5 and $15.
Student Assembly President-elect Dean Krishna '01 said, "We're going to be following up on the Fine Report. So far we've heard nothing from the administration."
"Parking is inadequate, and it's very prohibitive for anyone trying to drive to campus, be they handicapped, living far away or just lazy. It's ridiculous given the access and funding we have that we don't have a better system," Teresa Knoedler '00, an organizer of the Fines Report said.
Another project the Student Assembly is working on is a shuttle from A-Lot to the main campus.
The shuttle runs from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Fridays and Sundays. As soon as the shuttle route is finalized, the SA will work to put up signs around campus that mark bus stops.
"[The parking crunch] is not entirely the administration's fault. They have limited space. We could do a better job allocating it, but they're working with constraints," said Beth Westman, organizer of the shuttle service.
"That's a problem, and it's not necessarily anyone's fault ... sort of just the logistics of the campus," she added.
The parking garage and retail shopping complex being built between Hanover Park and Ben & Jerry's will add 289 spaces to Hanover's parking capacity in June 2000.
However, the College, as a partner in the project, will own only the retail space and not the garage.
"The garage portion is funded and driven by the town. The College is neutral as far as the garage," Associate Director of Real Estate Woody Simonds said. "Not any portion is thought to be used for students."
The general public, which includes students, will be able to lease parking spaces from the garage.
For some, downtown Hanover is a parking option.
"For the most part, students park responsibly," Patrick O'Neill, Hanover Police parking division supervisor said.
"The two biggest things I could look toward for improvement is complying with the overnight winter parking ban and parking behind the Hinman post office. Students will drive and park any place in the lot regardless if there's a space or not," he added.
The Hanover Police issued 2,488 parking tickets in April. Offenders include the general public and Dartmouth students.
Parking tickets range from $5 for an expired meter to $75 for illegally parking in a handicapped zone.
Recently, the parking meter rates rose from 25 cents to 50 cents. O'Neill said the two factors that drove the raise is a problem with employees who park for too long in spaces meant for only two or three hour parking and fundraising for the new parking garage.
