Access Fee Policy

General Parking and Traffic Regulations

Carteret Community College strives to provide safety and security for all students, faculty, staff and visitors.

Therefore, the following parking and traffic regulations should be followed:

1. Valid parking hangtags/stickers are required to be properly displayed on all vehicles parked on campus between the hours of 7:00 am through 5:00 pm, Monday – Friday.
2. No fee is to be charged to employees but they must register with campus security to receive their permanent parking hangtag. 
3. Curriculum students must register with the campus security office located at 115 Banks Street at the beginning of each academic year in order to park a vehicle on campus. Each registered student will receive a sticker that must be displayed on the back window of the vehicle. Stickers are valid for the academic year as noted. A college access fee of $7.00 is charged to each student per term at the time of registration so no additional fees are required. For a replacement sticker, the charge is $10.00. 
4. Continuing education registered students can obtain a temporary parking hangtag from administration in the Continuing Education office at no charge. These tags are only valid for the duration of the particular course. The Continuing Education office is responsible for maintaining a log of all temporary hangtags issued.
5. Parking for students and employees is on a first-come, first-served basis except for certain designated areas. Designated parking spaces include those marked reserved for:  a. Handicapped parking
   2. Staff parking
   3. Visitor parking
   4. Government parking
   5. Vehicles shall be parked within the lines of designated parking spaces.
   6. Motorcycles must be parked in designated parking areas.
   7. All motor vehicle laws apply to the operation of vehicles on campus.
   8. A valid handicapped placard/license tag must also be displayed in order to park in a handicapped parking space. Individuals violating handicapped parking regulations will be charged under North Carolina General Statute 20-37.6, punishable by fine up to $250.
6. Visitors must register at the College’s reception desk to receive a visitor’s parking hangtag. Visitors may park in the visitor parking areas or any general parking area except those that are reserved for handicapped, staff, or government parking. Visitor parking is limited to visitors only. No students or employees are allowed to park in visitor parking spaces. The college receptionist will maintain a log of all visitor hangtags issued.
7. Students, faculty, and staff are responsible for being aware of all traffic and parking regulations.  Lack of knowledge of these regulations will not justify forgiveness of penalties for violations.
8. The campus-wide speed limit is 10 mph. Any person who is observed habitually exceeding a safe speed on campus will be directed to the vice president of finance and administrative services for consultation.
9. All traffic and parking related accidents or incidents must be reported to a campus security officer or vice president of finance and administrative services and/or reported to Morehead City police department.
10. Carteret Community College is not responsible for damage to any vehicle parked or being operated on the campus or for any contents within such vehicles at any time.
11. The President’s Cabinet reviews parking availability, including handicapped areas and parking regulations, annually.

Penalties and Enforcement

Students and college employees are responsible for tickets placed on their vehicles for nonmoving violations regardless of who was operating the vehicle at the time of the violation. All fines must be paid within ten days of the infraction at the Business Office located in the McGee Building, Room 144.

The following violations shall result in the assessment of a $5.00 fine:

• Failure to display a current parking hangtag/sticker.
• Double-parking or blocking another vehicle.
• Unauthorized parking in visitor parking areas, loading zones, institutional vehicle spaces, other restricted spaces, unmarked areas not specifically designated for parking, blocking driveway or access.
• Failure to park within the lines of designated parking spaces.
• Failure to stop for signs on campus.
• Parking or waiting for passengers while stopped in driveways, fire lanes, and other areas not specifically designated for parking.

The rules and regulations of this policy may be enforced by the College in the following manner:

• The College may issue warning tickets for any reasonable period deemed necessary to properly orient students, faculty and staff regarding parking regulations.
• The College may levy fines as described in the previous section.
• The College may withhold transcripts, degrees/diplomas, library services, registration privileges, and other college services due to failure to pay parking fines as specified herein.
• The College may have vehicles towed in accordance with the provisions of Article 7A, Chapter 20, of the General Statutes of the State of North Carolina.
• Vehicles not plainly displaying authorization to park in restricted areas including disabled/handicapped parking, visitor parking, reserved parking spaces for institutional vehicles, loading zones, and vehicles that park in any area not specifically marked for parking by signage and/or painted parking spaces in paved parking lots are subject to being towed on the first violation.
• Unregistered vehicles parked on the campus in excess of 24 hours and vehicles parked on campus by persons who have had their parking privileges revoked are also subject to being towed.
• The order to tow a vehicle must be given by the president, president’s designee, or the next highest-ranking administrator in charge at the time the need for towing services arises. The College will maintain written records on orders to tow. 
• Carteret Community College is not responsible for any alleged damage, expense, or inconvenience created by the necessity of having a vehicle towed. The vehicle operator and/or owner of towed vehicle is responsible for the payment of towing fees and for storage charges assessed by the towing company. Towing service fees are payable directly to the towing company. Information related to the location of a towed vehicle may be obtained from a college security officer or the vice president of finance and administrative services.

Any person who is observed habitually in violation of the Carteret Community College Traffic and Parking Regulations shall be directed to the vice president of finance and administrative services for consultation and consideration. Repeated violations of this policy may result in a revocation of campus parking privileges.

Appeal Procedure

Parking fines, revocation of campus parking privileges, and orders to tow may be appealed; however, the filing of an appeal does not suspend the appellants’ obligation to pay fines in the period prescribed herein.

The following procedure should be used to appeal a parking fine, revocation of privileges, or an order to tow:

1. The appellant must submit a written appeal to the vice president of finance and administrative services within five (5) business days of the violation date. 
2. The vice president of finance and administrative services will render a decision within five (5) business days of the appeal.
3. If the appellant fails to abide by the period specified in this appeal procedure, the matter is considered resolved in favor of the College and violations or revocation of privileges will stand.
4. If the College fails to abide by the specified period, the matter is considered resolved in favor of the appellant. Any imposed fines will be refunded and revocations of privileges will be lifted.
5. The period can be extended upon the mutual agreement of both parties provided such mutual agreement is put into writing.
6. If an appeal results in a decision favoring the appellant, any fine paid to the College for the alleged offense shall be refunded in full. A finding in favor of the appellant in a towing incident will result in a reimbursement of the towing fee to the appellant by the College. Unsuccessful appellants in towing incidents have the right to appeal their case to district court.

Any questions or concerns about the Parking and Traffic Regulations Procedure or enforcement thereof should be directed to the director of Security and Emergency Preparedness or the vice president of Finance and Administrative Services.