How to avoid the aggravation of parking tickets

By Eric Chapman, Community Services District Supervisor

Getting a parking ticket is never fun, and it’s always frustrating. It can also cost you a ton of cash – as much as $520 for violations related to handicap parking.

Most parking tickets are issued for violations of local parking ordinances, which are civil offenses. In some cases, you can also be cited for breaking state laws, which are criminal violations under the Texas Transportation Code.

A parking ticket won’t affect your driving record unless you ignore it, throw it away or put it in your glove compartment and forget about it. Failing to deal with a ticket promptly can have serious consequences — including expensive fines – and can result in your vehicle being booted, towed, and impounded. In some cases, you can even lose your driving privileges.

Parking problems always exist in growing communities, especially college towns expanding as quickly as College Station. Most of the time, avoiding the headache of a parking violation is as simple as reading and obeying parking signs.

Our goal is to keep our residential streets safe and accessible for everyone – especially emergency vehicles – while making your parking experience as hassle-free as possible.

The photo montage below illustrates the most common parking mistakes we see in College Station.

For additional information or to check on local parking ordinances, call 979-764-6313.

 


About the Blogger

Eric Chapman is in his ninth year with the city’s Community Service’s Department and has been a district supervisor since 2013.  He worked for Tarrant County from 2005-08 and was a federal correctional officer in Warkworth, Ontario, from 1997-2005. He graduated with honors from Loyalist College in Belleville, Ontario, in 1996.


 

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3 thoughts on “How to avoid the aggravation of parking tickets

  1. Have a question about parking. I use a wheelchair and need a van accessible parking space. Many times there is not one available, so I park in two regular spaces, so that I have enough room for my lift and wheelchair. Could I get a ticket for parking over the lines?

    1. Jessica, here is Eric Chapman’s response:

      When it comes to parking in private lots such as HEB or Target, the City of College Station only enforces handicap violations in relation to designated handicap spaces, handicap van accessible areas, and fire lanes, not regular parking spaces. The city would not issue a ticket for this.

      The city does have a public parking lot located at 310 Church Ave. in Northgate, and we do issue citations for parking in two spaces. However, if you call our office ahead of time (979-764-6313) and let us know that you may be parking in the city lot, we could make a special exception if there were no handicap spaces available for you to use.

      I don’t know if you know this, but parking in or at metered spaces is free for drivers who are disabled. However, you must have a valid handicap placard displayed, or a handicap or disabled veteran license plate.

      Hope this helps!

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