A new way for visitors to obtain parking permits in the works.
Visitors to Texas A&M University-Commerce will soon be able to bypass the trip to the University Police Station to obtain temporary parking permits.
They will be able to get their parking permits online by simply filling out some information, and within a matter of seconds they will have a fresh permit to put on their cars.
In the past, visitors to the University would have to make a trip to the University Police Department to fill out information and then be verified that they weren’t students, just to get a temporary parking permit.
If they failed to get the permit before parking on campus and their vehicle was checked by University Police, visitors would be given a citation.
“All cars parked on campus must have a parking permit. This is a security issue. Visitors are included in that requirement and can get a citation if they fail to comply,” Jason Bone, crime information officer, said.
Visitors who fail to get a parking permit do not have to get upset though.
“We do have rules in place that allow them to fill out some information on the back of the ticket and then turn it in,” Bone said. “If it is verified they are a visitor, the ticket is dismissed.”
There is still much development to be done on the new online version of the parking permit forms and the specifics are still unknown, but visitors are eager for the ease of online.
“It will give me so much more time to spend with my grandson, instead of having to take a trip to the police station every time I come to visit. I will be able to easily fill out the information over the computer and print out what I need in seconds,” Marlene Martinez said.
In fact, the pre-production test of the online parking permits system shows just how easy it can be to get your own permit.
Whoever fills out the form will have to include such basic information as the arrival date of the visit, number of days visiting, location of the visit, the specifics of his or her car, and the driver information.
After that, the visitors have only to check that they understand the rules and regulations of the University, and click submit.
Then, in a matter of seconds, the person filling out the form will see their new parking permit, which must be placed on the dashboard of the car, and includes all of the information needed to avoid a citation.
One concern about this easy-to-fill-out form, is how easy it could be for students to fill out a visitor pass as many times as they want for themselves. There is no current protection against it.
“To my knowledge, there is no protection, other than we requested reporting done on this, so we can tell if vehicles are frequently getting visitor permits. I’m not sure if this recommendation is going to be followed,” Bone said.
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