By
Will Jones
Times Dispatch Staff
Writer |
Matthew Shifflett needs an
apartment for his senior year at Virginia Commonwealth University.
He's
looking for a four-bedroom unit.
Off-street parking would be highly
preferable.
Shifflett got 42 parking tickets during the last half of
1999, an average of nearly two per week. That's more than anyone else in the
city, according to a Times-Dispatch computer analysis of 64,684 tickets issued
from July 1 to Dec. 31.
He doesn't doubt he's tops in tickets.
Shifflett received 87 citations from November 1998 through Thursday.
He's paid them all, thanks largely to the generosity of friends, he said.
He keeps as proof a four-page receipt of most of his payments, which
total $1,685. The record doesn't include the times his car has been towed, at
$60 or more per incident. Shifflett has lost count.
By comparison,
tuition at VCU costs $1,246 per semester for Virginia residents studying full
time. Students get an average of 1.6 parking tickets per semester, compared with
1.3 for faculty and staff, according to a recent VCU survey.
"It's
pretty frustrating," said Shifflett, who's 21 and drives a red Dodge Neon. "But
the worst part of it is walking out of the door and not being able to find your
car because it's been towed."
Shifflett, who is studying theater, said
he hasn't been able to figure out how to avoid parking trouble. He once got four
tickets in one day. His longest streak without a ticket was 17 days, last fall.
Shifflett lives on Park Avenue across from VCU's Performing Arts Center,
where many of his classes are held. On-street parking in the area generally is
restricted to one hour during the day without a Fan District permit.
"When you're in a two-hour class, of course, you're going to have
trouble with a one-hour parking place," he said.
Shifflett
said he asked about getting one of the $25-a-year permits after his car got
towed for the first time as a result of more than three unpaid tickets. He can't
get a city permit |
"When you're in a
two-hour class, of
course, you're going
to have trouble with a
one-hour parking
place"
Matthew Shifflett
VCU Student |
because his car is registered in Hanover County in his
mother's name. He'd also have trouble proving he's a city resident, because his
name isn't on the apartment lease or utility bills.
Shifflett could get
a permit if his car either were registered in Richmond or listed in his name in
Hanover. In that case, he also would have to be a full-time student and resident
of Richmond, said Andy Rountree, the city's deputy finance director.
VCU
provides about 2,600 parking spaces in decks and lots for about 4,000 to 5,000
students who either live on campus or commute to classes.
While they're
geared to commuters or students in university housing, the 1,050-car decks on
West Main and West Broad streets possibly could accommodate a student who lives
in private housing in the Fan and is in a particular bind over parking, said
Paul Jez, VCU's vice president for business services and treasurer. The cost for
2000-01 will be about $120 per semester, depending on the deck.
"We try
to be flexible if a student comes to us with a unique situation," he said. "I
don't recall too many times when we've turned our backs."
Shifflett, a
1997 graduate of Lee-Davis High School, got few tickets as a freshman because he
lived in a VCU dormitory and parked in the Main Street deck. Also, as a
sophomore, he lived on Monument Avenue, where parking regulations aren't as
strict.
His trouble began last July, after he moved to Park Avenue.
"It shouldn't have to be such a hassle," he said. "On the other side of
the Boulevard, you can park almost anywhere."
Shifflett needs a car to
get to his job at Visions |
Salon on Main Street and to Farmville, where he
meets
once a week during the school year with a retired theater history professor.
"VCU is just not one of those schools where you can not have a car," he
said. "Not everything is right there where you need it."
More than anyone else, Officer Jackie Leighty has understood the extent
of Shifflett's parking troubles. She wrote 25 of the 42 tickets he received in
the last half of 1999. On Aug. 11, Shifflett got four tickets, three from
Leighty.
Until recently, Leighty didn't know Shifflett by his name or
face. All she knew was his license plate. Introduced by a reporter, the two
exchanged blushes and an awkward but friendly handshake on Park Avenue.
"Why can't you move your car?" Leighty asked gently. "I feel bad about
it. I really do."
Leighty has worked full time for Central Parking
System of Virginia since late 1998. She said she enjoys her job, despite getting
occasional threats from people who've been given tickets.
Leighty sees
parking enforcement as a steppingstone to full-time police work. She's taking
night classes at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College toward an associate's
degree in criminal justice. She hopes eventually to work as a patrol officer for
the Richmond Police Department.
Leighty also likes her job because its
regular, daytime schedule gives her plenty of time with her three children, as
well as time to exercise at the gym. She said she's trying to get by, just like
a lot of VCU students.
"All these kids say, 'You don't understand,' and
I do."
After the brief meeting with Shifflett, Leighty climbed into her
small patrol vehicle and continued her rounds, lights flashing.
"Goodbye, Matthew, and good luck," she called.
Shifflett didn't
say much to Leighty but clearly harbors no animosity. He even can consider
himself lucky.
"The tickets I have been getting are nothing compared to
the ones I could have been getting."
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