40 years ago: KU institutes colorful new parking system

From the Lawrence Daily Journal-World for Aug. 20, 1973:

Major revisions of Kansas University parking regulations were to go into effect next week. The new rules, starting on the first day of the fall semester, were to entail a color-coded parking system, with drivers allowed to park in any lot labeled with the color of their parking sticker and with the colors spread out all over campus. “If your preferred zone is full, you’ll have something reasonably close,” explained Lt. E. W. Fenstemaker, director of parking. “It’s no longer a home base system.” Another change was the availability of one-semester permits in addition to the annual ones. The price for an annual sticker was $27.50 for all zones except for residence hall zones, which were $17.50. Semester permits were $10 for residence hall zones and $15 for all other zones. The system of parking fines had also been reorganized. Under the old graduated system, a violator was allowed one free ticket, after which the charges were $2, $4, $8, and then $16 for all following violations. Drivers were permitted to accumulate up to $110 of fines, and “many people exceeded this limit,” Fenstemaker said. Under the new system, parking violations were categorized into four groups, each of which had a set violation fee. Group I violations, with a fine of $5, included nonhazardous offenses such as parking in a wrong lot, not having a permit, parking too long, or parking in a restricted area. Group II included “little bothersome things,” as Fenstemaker called them, such as a damaged or wrongly-displayed permit. No fee accompanied these offenses if they were corrected within seven days. Group III consisted of hazardous violations, such as blocking a drive, parking in a fire lane, or unauthorized storage of a vehicle on campus. Unfortunate cars caught in a Group III situation were to be towed and impounded immediately. Group IV included only one offense, the display of a forged or altered permit, which would again result in the vehicle being towed and impounded. “We found 15 or 20 forged stickers last year, and we didn’t even try to look,” Fenstemaker said. “The stickers are plain enough. They’re easy to manufacture. Polaroids take beautiful pictures of them.”