Beginning today, the HUB Parking Deck will use an electronic system to prohibit students from parking there.
A permanent kiosk booth that will control access to the parking deck will be manned from 7 a.m. to midnight, and an electronic system similar to the E-Z Pass system used at tollbooths will be implemented.
At 7 a.m. today, the gates at the HUB Parking Deck will be closed and will only open for those vehicles with an electronic transponder, issued to Yellow-C permit holders.
The University Parking Office began strictly enforcing an existing policy in the fall, which stated that the HUB Parking Deck could only be used by Penn State faculty before 4 p.m.
Previously, students and visitors often used metered and non-metered spots in the parking deck during the day, without much enforcement. The meters were originally intended for guest parking, but Jean Harris, parking office manager, said students began taking those spots as well.
Harris said the regulations on student parking in the HUB are not new, but now they are being more strictly implemented.
"Students have never been allowed to park there. In other semesters, it was just easier to get in because there was no one there to stop them," Harris said.
Any students found parking before 4 p.m. will be fined $15 for a wrong area violation, while any vehicles without proper permits will be cited for a $50 unregistered vehicle violation.
David Dorman, the parking allocation manager in the University Parking Office, said the new restrictions might not be as severe as most students believe.
The HUB Parking Deck is now being treated like any other faculty lot; students with registered vehicles and parking permits can still use the facility after 4 p.m., Dorman said.
"The only students who will really have a problem are those with unregistered cars trying to park in the HUB. And without a permit, they are in violation anyway," he added.
Dorman also said purchasing a permit would help to make parking on campus easier for students with cars.
Student permits, which cost $30 for the semester, provide access to almost all larger lots on campus after 4 p.m.
The new restrictions were also introduced because of other parking changes around campus, Dorman said. With the loss of many staff lots, including Lots 81 and 82, which were converted to on-campus resident parking, new spaces had to be made to accommodate staff members.
Although Dorman said the HUB Parking Deck has always been a "dual-use lot, with 50 percent staff spaces and 50 percent metered spaces," the number of metered spots had to be reduced from 120 spaces to just 40 to cut down on the number of student drivers using them.
From the hours of 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., another manned kiosk booth on Pollock Road will restrict access to those who have valid permits and direct people who do not to legitimate parking spaces.
Frank Pope, events parking coordinator, said the main goal is to eliminate vehicle traffic that conflicts with pedestrians on campus during the day.
Dan Shoffner, a member of the kiosk staff, said so far the transition has been running smoothly.
"The students understand that it is for the benefit of everybody, and they have been very understanding of the new rules, very willing to comply," he said.
Some students, however, are still upset by the new restrictions.
Marissa Frankel (senior-advertising) said with the new strict rules, she has more problems with parking tickets and has been fined up to 10 times just this semester.
"Especially if I'm going to the White Building, running into the HUB for a second, or just going to a group meeting in that area, I'll probably come back and have a $15 ticket," she said.
Kathryn Darby (junior-psychology) said the new restrictions only made a bad situation worse.
"There are no places for students to park in the center of campus, and they took away the last few spots we had," she said.
