Campus Safety • Parking-Driving Regulations
Noteworthy

All students and staff operating vehicles are responsible for reading and adhering to the current Calvin College and Seminary Parking and Driving Regulations. Copies are available on this page or at the Campus Safety Office on the second floor of the Mail & Print Services Building, located on the north end of campus, west of the Physical Plant building.

"Ten Ways to Avoid a Parking Ticket"

REGISTRATION OF VEHICLES

  • All motor vehicles (automobiles, motorcycles and motorized scooters) must be registered with the Campus Safety Office immediately upon bringing the vehicle to campus.

  • Registration fees for automobiles are $75.00 per academic year and $37.50 for motorcycles and motorized scooters.  Registration fees will be prorated beginning of Interim and during Second Semester.   The registration fee is not refundable, but special arrangements for a reduced fee for students only registered through first semester or through Interim can be made at the Campus Safety Office in the month of September or within seven days of registration of the vehicle.

  • Persons using more than one vehicle must purchase additional permits for these vehicles.  Additional permits will be $1.00 if only one vehicle is parked on campus at any given time.  If the user parks two or more vehicles on campus simultaneously, the full permit fee will apply.  Students may not transfer parking permits to other vehicles or to other students.

  • Lost permits will be replaced at a cost of  $15.00

  • Permanent parking permits (decals) on automobiles must be fully affixed in the lower right (passenger side) corner with their own adhesive backing. Students must acquire the appropriate permit corresponding to their commuter status or their residence on campus. Decals on motorcycles and motorized scooters must be displayed on the right front fork.

  • Temporary Parking Permits (mirror tag) must be acquired for any vehicle that is being used on campus on a temporary basis.  The temporary permit is $.50 per day or $3.50 per week, but it is free if the vehicle being registered is temporarily replacing a properly registered vehicle.  The temporary permit must be acquired the day that use of the vehicle on campus begins, but if operation begins after regular business hours, the user must contact the Campus Safety Dispatcher (night or day) to request parking privileges be posted until the next business day. Campus Safety may limit the number of temporary permits issued to a person or vehicle.

  • Frequent visitors and overnight guests are required to contact Campus Safety to obtain a permit, free of charge.  Overnight guests in the Residence Halls must park in the same overnight lots that resident students utilize.

  • Persons who knowingly acquire, use, or display a parking permit not consistent with their current status will be considered to be engaging in fraudulent behavior and will be referred to the campus discipline process.

WHERE YOU MAY AND MAY NOT PARK WITH YOUR COLOR OF PERMIT

  • The color of your parking permit decal or assigned temporary permit designates where you may and may not park.

  • Students displaying a current green (commuter) parking permit may park in any area NOT posted for staff, visitors or reserved for special purposes.  Students displaying a current green (commuter) parking permit may not park in lots posted for No Overnight Parking from 2am-6am.

  • Students displaying a current red (Knollcrest East Resident) parking permit may park in the parking lots at Knollcrest East, or if these lots are full, in the parking lot adjacent to the DeVos Communication Center.  Students displaying a current red permit may not park in the Fine Arts Center Parking Lot at anytime and may not park on any of the other lots on the main campus between 7:30am and 5:30pm with the exception of the Southwest Lot and Track and Tennis Lot, where they may park.  Students displaying a current red parking permit may not park in lots posted for No Overnight Parking from 2am-6am.

  • Students displaying a current yellow (south Residence Hall ) parking permit may park in the East Beltline Parking Lot, adjacent to the Ecosystem Preserve or, if this lot is full, in the parking lot adjacent to the DeVos Communication Center.  Students displaying a current yellow permit may not park in the Fine Arts Center Parking Lot at anytime and may not park on any of the other lots on the main campus between 7:30am and 5:30pm with the exception of the Southwest Lot and Track and Tennis Lot, where they may park.  Students displaying a current yellow parking permit may not park in lots posted for No Overnight Parking from 2am-6am.

  • Students displaying a current purple (north Residence Hall) parking permit may park in the Kalsbeek Huizenga Parking Lot or, if this lot is full, in the parking lot adjacent to the DeVos Communication Center.  Students displaying a current purple permit may not park in the Fine Arts Center Parking Lot at anytime and may not park on any of the other lots on the main campus between 7:30am and 5:30pm with the exception of the Southwest Lot and Track and Tennis Lot, where they may park.  Students displaying a current purple parking permit may not park in lots posted for No Overnight Parking from 2am-6am.

  • Students displaying a current silver (On-Campus Seminary Housing Resident) parking permit may park in the designated Seminary Housing Parking at their complex.  Students displaying a current silver permit may not park in the Fine Arts Center Parking Lot at anytime and may not park on any of the other lots on the main campus between 7:30am and 5:30pm with the exception of the Southwest Lot and Track and Tennis Lot, where they may park.  Students displaying a current silver parking permit may not park in lots posted for No Overnight Parking from 2am-6am.

  • Students with motorcycle permits must park in the appropriate resident lot if a resident student. Commuter students must park in a regular parking space where commuter parking is allowed or in the designated motorcycle parking area on the south side of the FAC Lot.

GENERAL AREAS WHERE YOU MAY NOT PARK

  • In posted short term parking lots without your lights on and longer than the posted maximum time limit.

  • In areas posted for Staff between the times posted on the signs for that area, unless you are a staff member.

  • In any area posted for Visitor Parking.

  • In any area posted or reserved for a parking for a special purpose for which you do not qualify.

  • In any space designated for the Handicapped, unless you or your passenger have a state-issued permit.

  • On a roadway, unless instructed to do so by parking attendants retained by Campus Safety.

  • In any area posted No Parking Anytime.

  • In driveways, beside landscaped islands, on lawns, on walkways, or in any place not marked as a parking space.

  • In the neighborhoods adjacent to campus unless you reside at the residence where you park.

IF YOUR VEHICLE HAS MECHANICAL PROBLEMS

  • Vehicles parked illegally or overnight due to mechanical problems must be reported immediately to the Campus Safety Dispatcher day or night or a violation may be issued.

CAMPUS DRIVING

  • The driving regulations and requirements of the Michigan Motor Vehicle Code shall apply to all driving on campus.

  • The posted speed limit on Campus is 25 mph, unless otherwise posted lower.

  • Drivers must STOP at stop signs and YIELD at yield signs.

  • Pedestrians in designated crosswalks have the right of way at all times.

  • Driving on walkways is only allowed if prior permission has been obtained from Campus Safety or from Residence Life staff.

  • If a driving infraction is observed by Campus Safety and attempting to make contact with the vehicle might jeopardize the safety of others, a college Traffic Violation may be mailed directly to the registrant of the vehicle.

  • Traffic accidents occurring on campus must be reported to Campus Safety.  Traffic accidents involving personal injury will also be reported to the police and Student Life Office.

PEDESTRIAN RESPONSIBILITIES

  • Pedestrians are urged to use designated walkways along roadways to ensure their safety.

  • Pedestrians should use Calvin's Crossing or other designated crosswalks to cross the East Beltline.  Those who choose to cross the Beltline at other points will be subject to a $50.00 fine for their first offense and $100.00 for their second.

FINES

The following fines will be levied for these offenses at the rate indicated:

  • No current Parking permit                                           $25.00*

  • Permit improperly or not displayed                              $15.00

  • General Parking fines                                          $15.00

  • Handicapped Parking                                                  $50.00

  • Disregarding Stop Sign                                                $15.00

  • Moving violations       $15.00 + additional assessments TBD**

*    Fine for first offense for no current parking permit received during an academic year will be waived if proper permit is obtained within one calendar day of the issued date of the violation.  The cost to the college for determining the user of a vehicle with No Current Parking Permit may be assessed to the user as an additional charge.

**   Factors that determine additional assessments are speed, recklessness or any damage done by the action of the vehicle/driver.

PAYMENT OF FINES

  • Fines for violations are payable in person at the Financial Services Office within seven calendar days of the violation.

  • Fines for violations not paid within seven calendar days will be charged to the student's miscellaneous account and will require payment at Financial Services.

APPEALS

  • Appeals of violations must be submitted within seven calendar days of the violation.  The appeal must be written on a Traffic Violation Appeal Form, available at the Campus Safety Office or on line.  If Campus Safety determines that a violation was written in error, Campus Safety will revoke the violation.  All other appeals will be forwarded to the Traffic Violation Appeal Board, which consists of students, staff, and faculty members who meet on a regular basis.  The appellant will be notified by email of the board's decision, which is final.   The fines for appeals which are denied or altered will be placed on account at Financial Services if the violations are more than 7 calendar days old.

REPEATED VIOLATIONS

  • Students who accumulate a total of eight violations during an academic year will receive notification that any fines thereafter will be doubled. Additionally, the matter will be referred to the Judical Affairs office for possible further sanctions

RIGHTS AND RESPONSIBILITIES

  • All violations issued to a vehicle shall be the responsibility of the person in whose name it is registered.

  • The college assumes no responsibility for loss of or damage to vehicles or their contents, driven or parked on campus.

  • The college reserves the right to remove at the owner's expense unlawfully parked or inoperative vehicles left for extended periods of time.  Vehicles without current license plates or without a current Calvin parking permit are subject to impoundment.

  • The college reserves the right to immobilize or impound a vehicle at the owner's expense when a vehicle has repeatedly been in violation of the parking regulations or whenever warranted by immediate circumstance.

  • The college reserves the right to use applicable means to identify the users of vehicles on campus. Costs associated with this process will be assessed to the vehicle user.
  • A fee of $35 will be assessed for the removal of the immobilization device. All towing and impoundment fees will be solely be the responsibility of the vehicle owner.