Talon Marks Online News
Cerritos College has added new daily parking permit dispensers in lots around the campus. The old yellow “Park-Ur-Self” dispensers still remain in working order for the time being.
There are two types of the new dispensers, that are being tested on a trial bases for three months in lots C-1 and C-10.
The price of a daily permit will remain $2, but the new interactive machines will eventually feature an option which the old machines do not, now accepting debit or credit cards.
Campus Police Chief Richard Bukowiecki talks about the new permit dispensers, saying, “The dispensers we have (Park-Ur-Self) are extremely old and have outdated technology and unfortunately they’ve gotten to the point where they are not really reliable.”
He also mentioned how the updated features on the new dispensers will benefit students, saying, “Students will be able to pay for daily permits with plastic because we realize that a few dollars will be a little difficult to to find in cash day after day.”
The Campus Police department is currently working with the county, in order to activate this option soon.
Undecided major Patty Solis commented on this option, saying, “Wow, that’s smart.”
Solis uses the machines four times a week and explains why she has not purchased a parking permit after several weeks of this semester have already finished.
She says, “I get too busy to go to admissions or wherever it is you go buy it.”
A student that attends class four times a week without a parking permit will have used these machines approximately 72 times during the 18 week semester.
There are other reasons why students depend on the kiosks for daily permits according to Zoology major, Lupe Barron, who says, “My financial aid money went to books, classes and gas, so every time I went to get it (semester parking permit) the money was not there.”
Barron says she plans on getting a parking permit for the semester in the near future, but explains why she prefers using the new dispensers over the old ones.
She says,“It’s actually a little faster than the old one and much easier to use.”
She goes on to say, “It is hard to see where the money goes in the older kiosks and sometimes it even steals it”.
For Cerritos College patrons using off-campus parking in order to avoid costs, the campus police have issued the following on the Cerritos College website:
•Off-Campus Parking is extremely restricted
•Parking in surrounding residential areas is by City issued permit only
•Student vehicles will be cited and can be towed by the City
•Parking in the shopping centers adjacent to campus is also prohibited by the property owners
For more information about the new kiosks or campus parking, contact Parking Coordinator Michelle Dawkins at 562-860-2451 ext. 2325 or visit www.cerritos.edu.
