By ELLIOTT DONNER

Staff Writer

Habitual parking violators who cannot be identified will be stopped in their tracks when Tech police give their cars the boot.

"Putting boots on cars isn't popular, but it's necessary," Tech Police Chief Stephen Quinnelly said.

When a boot is put on the wheel of a student's car, all the student has to do is go to the police station and provide them with an ID, and an officer will immediately take the boot off, Quinnelly said.

Quinnelly said, "Students are Tech's most important shareholder and the faculty and student organizations have been very receptive to getting closer parking for students."

The Student Government Association and the Tech administration put together a plan for students to pay $20 for 20 quarters to help pay for parking at Tech, Quinnelly said.

Quinnelly said since this plan started there has been over a thousand parking spaces added and there are plans to add more.

The newest addition to parking is going to open in the next two weeks when Leisure Lanes, a bowling alley located on Arizona Avenue, is torn down, Quinnelly said.

Lindsey Mencacci, SGA vice president and a junior biology major, said she thinks there is adequate parking on campus.

"The parking might not be right outside of your class, but you can get a spot on campus," Mencacci said.

Quinnelly and Mencacci said they believe there is no reason for parking tickets. But for some students like Nathan Franklin, a junior finance major, there are more than enough reasons to get tickets.

"I don't have to park on campus much, but when I do, $15 is a small price to pay for parking wherever I want to, especially in bad weather," Franklin said. But he said he is probably pushing the limits with his amount of parking tickets.

"There are a lot of people who have outstanding tickets at Tech and we use the boots to identify who they are," Quinnelly said.

Quinnelly said state laws make it clear that putting a boot on a car can only be used to identify a driver of a car. He said the police cannot use the boot as a way to make you pay your tickets, but you can't register for classes until you pay them.

Students who park in the wrong zones are ticketed because parking in the wrong zone can result in blocked emergency vehicle access and can mess up traffic flow, Quinnelly said.

"If we can't get a fire truck or ambulance through somewhere, it could potentially cause a big problem for the safety of someone else," Quinnelly said.

He said parking tickets are a small part of Tech's budget, but the money is channeled into the right places.

Quinnelly said some of the money goes to pay the ticket writers and staff at the police station. This money helps those students pay for school.