There are 21,000 reasons why you need to park your car correctly. That's approximately the number of citations issued by UD Parking Services last year, according to a document provided by Parking Services.

Parking Services is a division of the Department of Public Safety with 16 full-time employees. The unit is in charge of enforcing parking policies and managing UD's nearly 5,500 parking spaces.

Parking Services attendants are responsible for patrolling the lots and writing tickets when necessary, according to Darlene Holder, the director of Parking Services. The attendants validate parking permits by entering a vehicle's license plate number into a hand-held electronic device which displays any citations that the owner has not paid. There are five or six attendants on duty during normal business hours on weekdays. On the weekends, parking space is not as limited and only two employees patrol the lots.

Citations can be issued for a variety of reasons. Common offenses include not having a parking permit, parking in the wrong lot, displaying an expired permit, and parking in loading zones without using flashers. In addition, Dayton police officers can issue tickets for vehicles parked in the Ghetto and the Darkside.

The fees for the citations vary depending on the violation. Those who park without a permit must pay a $25 fine and parking in a disability lot without a proper permit results in a $40 fine. Students who commit serious violations must be prepared to shell out more money. Anyone who falsifies or misuses a permit must pay a $270 citation. Fines will be doubled if they are not paid within 14 days.

Holder believes the fines are necessary in order to prevent students from breaking the rules.

'One reason the fines are so high is to discourage students from taking chances that would violate the rules,' Holder said.

In some rare cases, such as having three or more unpaid citations, a vehicle could be impounded. A total of 422 vehicles were booted last year and 66 were towed.

Students have the option of appealing citations under certain circumstances. Holder requests that students contact the Parking Services office before attempting to appeal a citation.

'If students receive a parking citation, they should contact the office and attempt to resolve it if they believe there is extenuating circumstances,' Holder said.

According to a Parking Services appeals brochure, 'the issue in an appeal is whether or not the cited regulation was violated.' Individuals cannot argue that they were unaware of a violation. Appeals are presented to a panel of five faculty, staff and student representatives. Attempts to appeal citations are typically unsuccessful. Only 54 of 621 appeals were granted last year.

Many students are left wondering what happens to the revenue generated from permit costs and fines. A portion of the money is used for repaving the lots, snow removal and other general maintenance. The revenue also pays for administration and employee salaries. Parking Services is completely self-sufficient and it does not provide any funding to the university.

Furthermore, it is becoming increasingly difficult to locate a place to park with the growing number of students attending UD. Holder hopes that eventually more parking spaces will be available.

'We desire as much as anyone that we have adequate parking space to meet the needs of students,' Holder said.

In an effort to fix this problem, the university is currently exploring the possibility of creating a shuttle service. This could make transportation much easier for students in the future.

For more information on parking policies, visit the Parking Services Web site at campus.udayton.edu/~safety/parking/.