WHEREAS, towing is used in cases in which vehicles must be removed for the safety, comfort, or convenience of others; such as vehicles parked in accessible spaces designated for persons with disabilities, fire and life-safety zones, and reserved spaces; and

WHEREAS, towing is also used to remove vehicles belonging to scofflaws (e.g., those with four or more overdue citations, or with over $200 of outstanding violations), or vehicles displaying illegal parking permits (e.g., altered, forged, or reported lost or stolen); and

WHEREAS, vehicles belonging to scofflaws or in which illegal permits are displayed are often not parked in spaces requiring the immediate removal of a vehicle; and WHEREAS, the disruption caused by the towing of a vehicle can create an undue burden on the violator; and

WHEREAS, having a vehicle towed is also time consuming for the university personnel initiating the towing action; and

WHEREAS, towing charges do not accrue to the university but solely benefit towing companies; and

WHEREAS, the university’s Transportation Services proposes to replace the use of towing with vehicle immobilization (“booting”) for scofflaws and those who display illegal permits, in cases in which the vehicle does not need to be removed from campus; and

WHEREAS, the “boot” removal fee would be less than the cost of the towing fee and would accrue to the university instead of an outside party; and

WHEREAS, the “boot” would take substantially less staff time to apply, and would create significantly less inconvenience for the violator; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, that the university implement a “booting” policy for scofflaws and those who display illegal permits, when such vehicle immobilization is practical and preferable.

Respectfully submitted,

Sean Murphy, Graduate Student
Vice-Chair for Operations, University Assembly

Ned LaCelle, CIT Infrastructure
Member, University Assembly