Lethbridge College outsources ticketing to the City of Lethbridge. Paladin Security is in charge of patrolling the lots at Lethbridge College and handing out tickets. Students however are unhappy with parking pricing and how tickets are handed out during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Parking prices at Lethbridge College are frustrating students during the pandemic.
With most classes moving online, the amount of students buying parking passes at Lethbridge College has declined.
Bryan Czernick with Facilities Management says the college has definitely noticed the drop.
“We’ve definitely had a decrease in student yearly permits and fall permits and things like that. Our trade students really are the ones that are here most at the moment and then other groups like nursing and things like that are here maybe one or two days every couple of weeks, so they just end up paying through the app.”
Honk pay stations have been put up around the college giving students other options than just parking passes.
“We had planned to do that before COVID and all of that kind of stuff came about, so we were kind of getting rid of the coin machines and things like that anyway. So, we got three tap signs, so they have got an NFC sign as well as a QR code. There’s one in the front loop, one in lot O near the gym and one in lot B north of the instructional building , I used that QR code and put that on 19 other signs around campus that can be scanned to use the honk app to pay to park,” says Czernick.
Students, however, are having some trouble using the app.
Derek Wipf, a second year Digital Communications and Media student wasn’t able to pay using the app and ended up with a ticket.
“I wasn’t happy when I got the ticket; I expected a warning at least. I did attempt to pay with the app, trying to use the online system and it would not accept my credit card. So, I just said, you know what I have class I’m going to go, I thought I’d be okay, but no I come out and there’s a $35 parking ticket.”
Tickets are handed out by the city, but Wipf believes that using that format is not good enough.
“My problem is that even though it’s in the city, I don’t think the city should be handing out those parking tickets. I think it should be the college. Especially now during COVID, not a lot of students are going to be there now. I understand you got to pay a way in to park there, but for those that paid for a parking pass last year and missed a month of the parking that they paid for, it’s silly.“
Czernick says the college has always outsourced their tickets because they do not have the required staff to patrol the lots.
“It has always been like that. For the longest time, we have been doing city tickets. We don’t have our own security force, so that’s where we’re different than the university, they do their own ticketing. We contract Paladin Security to do our ticketing and they are writing city tickets. So any issues with tickets should be dealt with through the city.”
A possible solution Wipf believes may help the parking situation is setting up prices based on the student’s program.
“What the college probably could do is check what programs are on campus and for how many days and even include that in the tuition, just for how COVID is. Because we’re only here for nine days and I think it’s ridiculous having to pay $60 for a whole semester when you’re only here for nine flipping days. So, I think it’s silly, it’s just another silly thing to add to the list of things we are expected to do during COVID restrictions.”
Although the purchase of parking permits may fit the need of certain students, it’s also driving other students to park in other places where they don’t need to pay.
“Instead of paying their parking, I went to go park somewhere else and I just walked,” says Wipf.
The college is in a difficult spot due to COVID-19 and the need to generate revenue from parking, with the potential of students choosing to continue parking elsewhere if they find that the experience is good.