University parking enforcement hours change for daylight saving
A man pays for his parking spot outside of Evo Cafe on Sixth Street on Nov. 15. Parking on campus will only be enforced from 5 a.m.-4 p.m from Nov. 4 to March 8.
November 18, 2019
The University parking department has changed parking enforcement hours from 5 a.m.-4 p.m., according to Marie Star McMullen, customer care manager at the University of Illinois Parking Department.
She said some housing lots will still be enforced 24 hours, but the rest of the lots around campus will stop enforcement at 4 p.m. on weekdays.
Safety is the main reason for this adjustment in the parking enforcement hours because daylight saving time causes it to get darker earlier. Changing the hours allows people to park closer to their destination.
“They’re not having to walk in the dark by themselves,” McMullen said.
She added this is mainly for commuters who come to campus in the evening hours, but it can also be beneficial for faculty, staff and students.
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“It’s really for anyone who’s going to be on campus at that time,” McMullen said. “It’s designed to help anyone.”
However, McMullen said none of the signage on parking meters or in lots is going to change.
“That would be a little bit much for us to do,” she said. “But basically we have it on our website, and it was in the E-weekly (for staff and faculty).”
When the clocks move forward for daylight saving time again in the spring, enforcement times will go back to what they were before. For this year, the enforcement hours took effect on Nov. 4 and will go back to normal after March 8.
Inhoo Kim, freshman in AHS, said he drives on campus, often to the ARC.
Kim said he was not aware of the change in enforcement hours, but he likes how this will allow him to go to the gym earlier and not have to worry about parking.
“The (new hours) are good with me,” he said. That’s less money (for students) to pay.”
Alexandria Morris, graduate student in Nursing, said she was also unaware of the new enforcement hours.
“That’s good to know because I would only go to the libraries on the weekends for the free parking,” she said. “But now I can go to ACES earlier in the day and not pay. That’s convenient and really nice.”
Morris said she drives every day for either work or church, so the new hours are nice for people to know parking around campus.
“We seem to get good PR from it,” McMullen said. “People really like it. It’s something they look forward to, and it seems to be a success, and again, it’s all for safety, so we like doing it. We want to keep everyone safe on campus. This is our contribution to that.”
