UPDATE: This story has been updated to reflect the final version written by the reporter. An earlier version was inadvertently published as part of a training exercise. City Times regrets the error.
At the start of the second week of classes at San Diego City College, Chrisdan Peralta couldn’t find a parking spot in the student lots.
He decided to park on an unmarked curb inside the dirt parking lot across from the BT building in order to make it to his 9:35 a.m. class on time.
“All the spots were getting filled up,” said Peralta, who is a member of the City Times Media staff. “ I just started seeing people park on the (curb) of the parking lot. So, I took one of those because I had to run to class.”
A few hours later, Peralta found a parking ticket from the San Diego Community College District police, the law enforcement agency responsible for City College.
“I saw a ticket on my windshield, timed around 40 minutes after I got there,” Peralta said. “There was no color on the lines, no sign or anything saying I couldn’t park there. Everyone else was doing it so I decided to do it as well.”
Debuting this fall is a new online system to purchase parking permits, as well as the return of lot 5 as an official campus lot. Parking permits also remained the same price – $40 per semester.
But some students have reported issues ranging from confusion over the semester-opening grace period to stories like Peralta’s.
Morgan Green, an SDCCD police officer at City, explained the reasoning behind ticketing in the area Peralta parked.
“If you’re inside the lot, parked on the curb and not in a stall,” Green said, “you will get a ticket.”
When students park along the curb, Green said, it creates a one-way flow of traffic, which can lead to traffic jams.
Students may also hit each other in the parking lot because they are trying to go around the parked cars on the curb.
“It also blocked people from getting out of parking spots,” Green said.
Outside of getting an early parking ticket, Peralta found the new digital permit easier to access.
“It’s pretty convenient with putting in your license plate instead and not having to put a sticker on your car,” Peralta said.
Students also reported confusion earlier about a grace period to purchase their parking permits.
According to the San Diego City College Parking page, there was no grace period this semester, contradicting at least one sign posted on the daily parking meters and the student portal.
“There was a grace period,” Green confirmed. “It was the date the students started classes until September 5th.”
The reason some students reported delaying their purchase was the cost.
This $40 price could be high as the first disbursement of financial aid has yet to drop. The first Pell Grant disbursement is scheduled for the week of Sept. 25.
This has some students parking on city streets and paying meters to avoid the risk of getting ticketed in campus parking lots.
“Vehicles without a valid, properly displayed permit may be cited or towed,” the City College parking page stated. “Immobilization or impounding of a vehicle is likely the result of accumulating five or more unpaid parking citations.”
Students eligible for financial aid can get a $25 discount. Additionally, EOPS students are able to get a parking permit or the bus/trolley pass for free.
The permit gives students access to parking on all SDCCD campuses.
Students who receive a parking citation can pay online or call 619-388-6416.
