Lower MSU/East Lansing Parking Rates

My issue, and I'm sure the issue of many of my fellow Spartans and East Lansing residents, is parking in the city and on campus. Living in East Lansing for my entire life, I have dealt with the constant ticketing of PACE officers and witnessed my parents, friends, and family receive countless, overly-expensive citations for the most incredulous reasons. For example, parking overnight on my own residential street, having my car hang 2 inches over the sidewalk, having a part of my car on my own grass lawn, etc. It is absolutely outrageous to me that for parking on my own street overnight can cost me $35. Growing up in this town, everyone I know had a certain distaste towards PACE and the MSU Police Department. We understand they are doing their jobs, but the price residents and students are required to pay every day for parking and in violations is over the top. In 2013, PACE wrote 40,917 parking violations, which is about FOUR citations for every FIVE MSU STUDENTS. During the 2014-2015 school year the MSU Police Department raked in 1.6 MILLION from fines brought on by parking violations. It is appalling to me that students who need to drive to class, considering how large our campus is, could run them over $20 a week in paying for ramps, and even more if they risk not paying and get a ticket. It may not sound like much, but since we are paying a crazy amount of money to go to school here, you would think MSU and the city of East Lansing could so much as provide SOME sort of free lot or transportation. Or at least lower the rates per hour of parking! In July 2016, rates per half an hour in parking garages went up to 75 cents and in surface lots from 70 cents to $1. Not only that, but most meters downtown now are active until 3am, when they used to be free after 6pm. Also, parking on streets is typically not allowed and even if so, it's for an hour or two, while most classes run longer than that plus time it takes to walk back to your car. Even the University of Michigan has two separate FREE bus systems to get kids to and from class. A CATA pass here at MSU will run you $50 per semester and that bus system is unreliable. MSU is even ranked 5th worst college town to have your car at. Now don't get me wrong, I am lucky to attend Michigan State University and I love this school more than anything, but there is a problem here and students are being penalized for simply needing to get to class, going to work, or attending any extracurriculars they participate in. My roommate who pays her way through school at LCC and works at State recently bought an IM Gym membership (which are expensive) and can only park around it for an hour for $1.80 or else she'd have to park farther away for a more expensive fee anyways. I studied at the library for five hours on a Saturday before finals in December and at Spartan Stadium it ran me $9.80, and since I didn't have that much cash on me, I was going to have to park, go to the other side of the Stadium in the 15 degree weather and take money out from the ATM, or get charged an extra $2 ticket. Just today, my other roommate parked at Spartan Stadium for class and the ticket machine was not working yet the gate was open, so she went through and stayed for two hours. When she left, the man working the gate charged her $12 since she didn't have a ticket and when she explained the ticket machine wasn't working and she wasn't there for more than two hours, he ignored her and charged her $12 still. There is no way to win in the MSU/EL parking situation and I believe it needs to be changed. All I ask is to lower rates for students at least and to stop giving out more violations than necessary. Also to allow students to park on side streets downtown since they are mostly rented out by MSU kids anyhow and we all understand the struggle. It shouldn't cost students MORE to attend classes they already pay for and I believe lowering the rates/letting kids park on their streets will increase class attendance. This is a constant problem for us devoted Spartans and something needs to be changed.