FAMU Parking Enforcement officer ticketing vehicle without registered tag.
Courtesy of Adrienne Robinson
Florida A&M University Police Department plans to invest between $39,000 and $42,000 to purchase T2 parking meters, new vehicles and surveillance cameras on FAMU patrol vehicles on campus to make on-campus more effective.
The new T2 system allows students license plates to register as a parking decal.
FAMU PD recently discovered the old parking process was an inconvenience to both students and faculty.
FAMU PD discovered this problem when parking became apart of their department in 2014. The department noticed these issues when students, faculty and staff would be in parking services standing in long lines for parking decals.
Students, faculty and staff had difficulty receiving parking decals in a timely manner and were not receiving decals until late September and early October. They also complained sticker decals would fall off or not attach properly to the mirror.
FAMU Police Chief Terence Calloway noticed the old system was a hindrance to students and his department. He believes this new system will allow parking to become easier for students, faculty and staff.
“[A] student is allowed to walk up to the T2 parking meters and pay with a debit card or cash which is convenient,” Calloway said. “This new system is more effective, more efficient. It’s not to hammer people or get more tickets, it’s just the whole process of trying to make thing better for faculty staff and students.”
Although parking services claim this system is more effective, parking services cannot detect whether or not the T2 system has helped decrease the amount of ticket write-ups because the system is not fully operating.
Currently, Parking Services are not ticketing non-registered vehicles because the system is not at its full capacity. Once the system is fully operating, parking services has ensured that tickets will be written for non-registered vehicles.
Allison Mcnealy, FAMU parking services supervisor, believes the system will be running at its full capacity soon and students and staff will be paying more attention to where they park around campus.
“The system is not fully set up, but the system is projected to be working fully in the next few weeks and students will definitely get a heads up when the system is back to full capacity,” Mcnealy said.
T2 parking meters have been installed on Wahnish Way, in front of Gaither Gym and on Gamble Street in front of FAMU villages. They are also in front of the girl housing facilities Diamond and Mcguinn.
Also with this new systems students are able to register two cars, whereas in the past students could only have registered one.
The new T2 parking will eliminate the hassle of student receiving tickets because of a discrepancy with sticker decals.
James Vaughan, parking services driver, believes the new system is quicker to detect parking violators and to print ticket.
“The T2 system helps with discrepancies because the system is a lot faster and its real time, in the field I can see how many tickets a person has collected with their vehicles and allows the other PST’s to see if I write a ticket and comment,” Vaughan said.
Parking Services wants to educate the campus about parking because so many students have questions.
Officers have expressed that many of their first encounters with students is at their car when they receive a ticket.
Parking Services is looking into setting up a booth during Set Friday so students can ask questions and become educated on all the new system rules and regulations.
If there are questions about parking services, please visit www.famu.edu and search parking services.