History of a Parking Ticket

In 1926 American merchants listed downtown traffic congestion as their most serious difficulty. Unenforced curbside parking and lack of off-street parking facilities were listed as the primary problems. Customers went where they could park.

During the great depression city revenues dwindled. With parking meters, however, a new source of municipal revenue was found. Not only did the nickels paid in by parkers accumulate, but so did the fines imposed for over parking. By 1944, American cities were generating some $10 million annually from parking meters alone. Soon after came meter maids, who were paid less than police officers, to increase city revenues.^{[citation needed]} Complex parking rules, restrictions and regulations are now an integral part of modern life and landscape.

Typically a ticket is placed on a vehicle when the owner or driver is not present. There is no place for a signature, and in California the registered owner cannot be charged with a misdemeanor or other criminal offense for ignoring a ticket. A letter will usually be sent prior to any punitive action. Most jurisdictions, however, will have sanctions such as refusal to allow renewal of license plates if the owner of the vehicle has unpaid parking tickets. In some jurisdictions, such as New York City, a vehicle may be towed if it has overdue parking fines exceeding a specified balance. In many jurisdictions, such as Boston, vehicles with numerous outstanding parking citations are subject to booting.

Extra Parking Lot?

Will it ever come to this here at MHC?

Student Summer Parking

Summer is coming! I know, its hard to image with finals approaching quickly that summer is right around the corner, but it is!

So with this in mind, here is where you should park your vehicle during the summer-

I am a student and I will be here during the summer, where can I park?
You may park in the designated student parking spaces. Your decal will expire 5/31/2008, but you are still allowed to park in the student areas. Do NOT park in a Faculty/Staff space since students may never park in these spaces.

I am a student and I will NOT be here during the summer, where can I leave my car?
You may *NOT* leave your vehicle on campus while you are away from campus over the summer. If vehicles appear to be inactive, it will be removed at the owners expense from campus. Please use a local storage facility or bring your vehicle home while away for the summer.

Parking at the Equestrian Ctr

We hear a common question here at the Parking Office about the Equestrian Center parking lot. Well, I'm here to help out and answer a couple of those questions here. So, here we go......


I have a resident student decal, can I park at the Equ Ctr?
Yes, only in the student parking area along the hill. The resident student decal allows you to park in the designated student spaces at this location.
If I have an Equ Ctr Student Decal, where can I park?
You may park at the Equ Ctr student spaces *ONLY*. The decal is only good for this parking lot and a cheaper alternative to the all resident decal.

Please be aware that there is an employee parking lot at the bottom of the hill for the staff that work at this location. We would appreciate students remain out of these spaces and to help avoid a ticket since students may *NEVER* park in a faculty/staff parking space.

MA RMV Changes

The MA RMV is adding new services to its website.

People who want to know their auto registration status (including whether they have any outstanding parking tickets that would block renewal) can now check online.

So can people who want to know the status of a title or a lien. The same for teens who want to know if the Registry has receive their driver's education certificate.

This is to help people get out of line and get online.

American "Idle"ing

Do your share for clean air — Turn off your engine when waiting!

Exhaust fumes from gasoline and diesel engines contain harmful pollutants including nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds, and fine particles that can make it difficult to breathe, cause resiratory infections and chronic bronchitis, and trigger asthma attacks. Unnecessary idling also wastes fuel and releases greenhouse gases contributing to global warming.

Massachusetts Anti-Idling Law prohibits unnecessary vehicle idling, requiring that the engine be shut down if the vehicle will be stopped for more than five minutes. There are three exceptions: (1) when the vehicle is being repaired and idling is necessary to make the repair; (2) the vehicle is making deliveries and needs to keep its engine running (e.g., to power refrigerators); or (3) the vehicles accessory equipment needs to be powered (e.g., to defrost your windshield while actively clearing off snow and ice). Leaving your car running to let the heater warm it up or air conditioning cool it down is considered unnecessary idling.

In order to reduce the health and environmental effects of vehicle exhaust, comply with the state's idling reduction regulation and law, and decrease fuel use - please limit idling to five minutes in campus and personal vehicles.

For more environmental tips, check out the Environmental Health & Safety website.

Bicycle Registration

Reminder!

All bicycles on campus must be registered with Public Safety via the Parking Office. Registration is *FREE* and can be done Monday - Friday, 8:30am-4pm at the Parking Office located in Central Services.

Bicycles in violation of the college's bicycle policy that is unregistered or with an expired decal are considered abandoned.

Please register your bicycle so Public Safety does not have to confiscate & discard your bike! Please register before you leave for the semester by 5/31/2008. Thank you!

At the time of registration, please provide the make, model, serial number, color, style, number of speeds and value if known.

Enjoy the warmer weather!