UPD officers will not be the ones patrolling parking yet
Around 15 years ago, Parking Services was also managed by UPD before transitioning away to allow officers to focus more on public safety, according to Jayme Blaschke, Texas State’s director of media relations.
One of the differences in UPD taking over parking this time around is students will be the ones policing parking. Carmichael said he plans on hiring students to take on Public Safety Officers (PSO) positions at UPD.
“PSOs will enforce parking regulations… they’re the eyes and ears of the police on the same radio channel,” Carmichael said. “They can also report suspicious activity before it becomes a crime.”
Carmichael said UPD is in the process of interviewing students for the role, and police officers will not take over parking until next year. He said that is partially due to an understaffing problem UPD is facing.
PSOs will also be providing safe rides to students as part of Bobcat Safe Rides program, a safety escort program that launched Aug. 17.
“If you’re a student anywhere in San Marcos, if you feel unsafe and you need to get home you can call me and the first person coming to get you is a Public Safety Officer,” Carmichael said.
The night routes that stop at the purple parking lots east of the river is the Campus Connector, which runs until 9 p.m. and Night Connector that runs until 10:30 p.m. In that case, Carmichael said commuters can call Bobcat Safe Rides. Nite Cats and the Student Safety Escort Program, two similar programs, no longer exist and have been combined under Bobcat Safe Rides.
Like most parking operations, the prices for parking fines remained the same. The standard fine for parking in a spot with the wrong or no permit is $40.
However, the PSOs main focus will not be writing parking tickets but the safety of students.
“We don’t get up in the morning go, ‘Okay, how many tickets am I going to write today?’ Carmichael said.
However, for Davis that is sometimes what it felt like. He said he got a parking ticket every week last school year.
Davis was also late to class multiple times due to driving around in search of a parking spot.
“Professors wouldn’t be too lenient about it. If you’re late by 10 minutes to 15 minutes, you are considered absent. So at the end of the semester, they would tank your grade just because you were supposedly not there even though you were,” Davis said.
At the end of the spring 2024 semester, final grades in two of Davis’ classes dropped a letter grade because of attendance
Students interested in giving their input on parking can attend University Safety Committee meetings that meet once a month. The next meeting is 3 p.m. on Sept. 30.
“I want your parking experience to be safe and you leave with a good feeling of service. It’s not lofty, and I can, and I can prove how tangible that is factually a year from now,” Carmichael said.
