Students, faculty and staff will no longer be required to purchase parking permits as a result of a regulation taking effect the first day of fall semester 2017.

Individuals who want to park on GS’ campus will now be digitally identified by their license plates instead of physically identified by parking permits. Annual parking prices, however, will not change: $110 for commuters, $160 for residents and $100 for faculty and staff.

In addition, backing in and pulling through parking spaces will no longer be permitted to allow GS officials to easily view vehicles’ license plates.

The reason

Kristi Bryant, director of parking and transportation at GS, said the office has begun utilizing License Plate Recognition (LPR) technology to better manage campus parking.

“In an effort to streamline and modernize the way parking is managed on campus, we have developed this system,” Bryant said. “This technology will help us better determine the peak usage of parking lots to allow maximum usage for students.”

Bryant also said that the office did a “soft launch” this summer with residential students, adding that it has been “really well-received”.

The details

According to the terms of service, “the software combines [license plate numbers] with the individual’s permit classification and payment to generate a virtual permit linked to that vehicle’s license plate”.

The parking and transportation office will still assist anyone with the process of purchasing access to campus parking. The office is anticipating, however, that with the new LPR system in place, visits to the office will be less frequent.

“We do not want a member of our campus community to be bound by our business hours to register a vehicle and be subjected to citations,” Bryant said. “It is my hope that by enabling a member of our campus community the ability to register vehicles online, and not have the burden of finding time to stop by our office to do so, this process will alleviate some of the frustrations.”

Cost for violations

Improper display of parking decals and hangtags still warrant a $5 citation. Unauthorized use of permit is $25 and parking in a no parking zone or reserved space is $30.

Failing to display a current/valid permit will be $35 and parking in a fire area is $50. The fees for booting a vehicle and for people tampering with the boots are both $50 each and finally, defacing or modifying any parking or traffic signal is $50.

Currently, the list of parking violations on GS’s website has not been changed to reflect the new regulations.

Students, faculty, or staff who wish to park on campus can register their vehicle online here.