Vehicle Policy

Last updated: Spring 2022

I. REGISTERING YOUR VEHICLE

All faculty, staff and students who operate a vehicle on the College’s campus must register their vehicle and obtain a parking permit decal from the Office of Finance and Administration.

Students attending the College must obtain their parking permit decal before the start of classes each academic year. The cost of the parking permit decal is $15.00 per academic year. The parking permit is valid for one academic year, from the beginning of the Fall Semester to the beginning of the following Fall Semester. Students must apply for and renew their parking permit each Fall Semester before the start of classes.

The student must display the parking permit decal on the lower left side of their vehicle’s rear window at all times and must adhere to the parking regulations of the College. If car windows are tinted, the decal should be placed in a manner to make it visible from the outside rear of the car.

Students needing to purchase a parking permit can do so by filling out the Vehicle Permit Request Form. Email the completed form to Marjorie Hohrath in the College's Business Office:

II. GUESTS

1. Guests of faculty, staff or students are subject to all parking regulations of the College. Campus Security may issue a temporary parking permit decal that must be displayed from the rearview mirror.
2. Campus Security may assist the guest/visitor regarding where to park on campus.

NOTE: The security office is located at the Orange Street location main entrance.

III. GENERAL RULES

1. Parking lots and decals will be assigned a color as follows:

GREEN: Assigned to all NEW Freshmen and Pre-Major Students. Students with a GREEN decal will park in the Clark Street parking lot and the MAC Lower Level lot only.
RED: Assigned to all other students. Students with a RED decal will park in the Alms House Lot, Naval Reserve Lot, the Hartzell Lot, and Schwalm Student Lot, the MAC Lower Level Lot and Clark Street Lot.
BLUE: Assigned to students with a disability. Students with a BLUE decal may park in specially designated accessible spots. Should none be available, they may park in any student lot.

2. Greenfield Campus Parking: Students who attend classes at Greenfield may park at that site with any color parking decal.

3. Greiner Campus Parking: Students who attend classes at Greiner, may park in the lot East of the North Building (old Parks and Recreation building) or in the lot beside the North and South Buildings marked as student parking. Students are also recommended to take the shuttle to and from Main Campus, on Academic Drive, next to Jones Dining Hall.

4. The purchase of the parking decal does not guarantee a parking spot is available in the exact location, or at the exact time, the student arrives on campus. It only gives the student permission to park in any available spot in the area assigned. Lack of a legal parking space is not a valid excuse for violation of any parking regulation. Parking at the College is on a first come, first serve basis.

5. Students are not permitted to park on any city street that is adjacent to a TSCT facility.

6. The absence of a “No Parking” sign does not mean that parking is allowed. Students are not allowed to park their vehicles in the Mellor and Kreider parking lot.

7. If you receive a parking ticket, Campus Security will place the ticket under the windshield wipers of your vehicle or hand the ticket to you.

8. Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology and the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania assume no responsibility or liability for loss or damage to any vehicle operating or parking on the College’s property.

9. The person registering the vehicle will be responsible for all parking violations of the registered vehicle.

10. The operator/owner of the vehicle shall be responsible for all violations of an unregistered vehicle including boot removal and towing cost.

11. The College reserves the right to restrict parking for special purposes at any time. In addition, students are not allowed to park in a fire lane, handicapped space or next to trash dumpsters at any time.

12. Students must report the location of a disabled vehicle to Campus Security immediately. Failure to report a disabled vehicle will be considered a parking violation.

13. Any vehicle, disabled or otherwise, posing a hazard to the safety and security of faculty, staff and students will be towed from campus at the expense of the owner/operator.

IV. OFFENSES & FINES

A person is fined the specified amount when committing any of the violations listed below.

NOTE: In addition to the fines described below, parking violations may result in the disabling or towing of a vehicle as specified in sections VII and VIII of these regulations.

Parking Offenses/Violations Resulting in a Fine:

1. Parking a motor vehicle anywhere except in a designated parking area.

2. Parking a motor vehicle in an area that is posted.

3. Parking a motor vehicle on grass/lawn or other areas clearly not used for parking.

4. Parking a motor vehicle in a reserved handicapped space without a handicapped license plate or decal.

5. Parking a motor vehicle on campus without a valid parking permit decal.

6. Parking in a fire lane (the vehicle may also be towed at the owner/operator’s expense)7. Parking a motor vehicle without a visible decal in the rear window.

Parking Fines:

1st Offense: $10 fine
2nd Offense: $15 fine
3rd Offense: $20 fine
4th Offense: $20 fine, along with boot placed on vehicle.

All succeeding offenses will be considered a violation of College Policy and may result in disciplinary action and an additional $20 fine per violation.

A fee of $25 will be charged to a student to remove a vehicle boot in addition to all previous fines.

V. PAYMENT OF FINES

1. Payment of parking fines or penalties may be made at the Business Office during normal business hours on business days. The Business Office is located on the first floor of the Mellor Building.
2. Fines or penalties must be paid within five (5) business days from the date of issue.

VI. UNPAID FINES OR PENALTIES

Fines not paid by students within five (5) business days will be administered as follows:

1. The College will place a hold on all school records until the fines and penalties are paid.
2. At the end of the academic year, all unpaid fines will be sent to the Attorney General’s office for collection.

VII. AUTO BOOTING

Vehicles which have a record of the following parking violations will be ticketed and immobilized with an auto boot:

1. Accruing four (4) or more parking violations.
2. Parking on campus after all parking privileges have been revoked.
3. Parking in a space reserved for the handicapped.
4. Parking in a fire lane.
5. Refusing to move a vehicle when directed to do so.
6. Leaving a vehicle illegally parked for more than 24 hours.
7. Failing to properly display a parking decal.

Additionally, the vehicle may be immobilized with an auto boot until the vehicle can be towed off campus (for whatever reason the College deems necessary to maintain the safety and security of the faculty, staff and students).

The auto boot will remain on the vehicle until the following conditions are satisfied:

1. The violator has paid all past parking violation fines and penalties.
2. The violator has registered the vehicle and has displayed a valid parking permit decal.
3. The violator has paid an additional $ 25.00 fine to cover the cost of applying the auto boot.

VIII. TOWING OF VEHICLES

Vehicles may be towed when:

1. The parked vehicle interferes with the movement of emergency vehicles or endangers the life or property of others.
2. The vehicle is parked in an area reserved for handicapped persons.
3. The vehicle is parked in a fire lane.
4. The vehicle is parked in an area that blocks a handicapped ramp.

Towing and storage charges are the responsibility of the owner and/or operator of the towed vehicle. Vehicles that are towed from campus may result in the loss of parking privileges for a period of one semester.