OCCC Police Chief Jim Fitzpatrick said parking — sometimes an issue in the fall and spring semesters — should pose no problems this summer.

He said the parking lots are well laid out with clearly defined areas where students can park.

“There’s not really a whole lot of restricted parking, other than what you would normally find anywhere.”

Chris Snow, Facilities Management assistant director, agrees. He said there’s plenty of parking available to students.

“On the main campus, there are 3,559 parking spaces that students can freely use,” Snow said. “There are also 100 dedicated handicapped spaces.”

The restricted parking on campus is pretty simple, Fitzpatrick said. Students can’t park in faculty spaces, in a handicapped space without displaying a handicapped placard, or in fire lanes.

“One of the things the students need to be aware of is that any branch of Oklahoma City law enforcement can come on this campus and does, to enforce the fire lanes and handicapped spaces.” Fitzpatrick said.

“And that is totally outside the administration of the college. To pay those tickets, you have to go to municipal court.”

The restricted parking is marked with standard colors, Snow said.

Blue and white for handicapped with signs showing the spaces are reserved; yellow for general use; blue for faculty parking; and red striping for fire lanes.

Fitzpatrick says that when searching for a place to park, students should exercise common sense.

“Students should pay attention to curbs and signage, and make sure they don’t block the traffic from getting in and out of the parking.”

Students also need to remember that there are only so many spaces close to the building, and that all parking is first come, first served.

“If you have a class that’s later in the day, you may need to show up earlier to have time to find a good spot if you don’t want to walk a couple hundred feet.”

All of the lots are open right now, Snow said.

“But there is a very limited number of parking spaces that can’t be used right now, because we’re working to replace light poles around the campus.”

For more information about fines and fees, and for a map of the parking lots on campus, see page six of this edition.