Parking Policies

After the first week of the Fall term, student vehicles that have not been registered with the campus safety office will be subject to the following actions:

1. First Encounter: Warning issued.

2. Second Encounter: $250 fine for failure to register.

3. Third Encounter: Loss of vehicle privileges and removal of the vehicle from campus.

Students may only park in the following lots: VAPA Lot, Alabama Lot, or Ohio Lot. All other parking areas on campus are reserved for visitors, staff, and faculty. If a student needs to park in an area other than VAPA, Alabama, or Ohio Lots, they must request advanced authorization from the Campus Safety Office and will be issued a special, temporary permit.

Students parking in visitor, staff, faculty areas, or on the grass will be issued a ticket each day the vehicle is parked in the unauthorized area. All ticketed cars will be photographed and logged into the Campus Safety incident database, documenting the time, date, location, vehicle license plate, and registration.

Tickets will be automatically billed to the student’s account. Fines for parking violations will be assessed progressively during each school year:

1. First Violation: Warning only, no fine.

2. Second Violation: $25 fine.

3. Third Violation: $50 fine.

4. Fourth Violation: $100 fine.

5. Fifth Violation: Loss of vehicle privileges on campus.

All College streets, except for the street immediately in front of Health Services, are designated Fire Lanes under Vermont State Law. Parking in Fire Lanes is prohibited at all times. 

Any vehicle parked in a Fire Lane will be ticketed and may be towed. Registered vehicles are towed to the Ohio parking lot, and the vehicle owner is billed as outlined below. Unregistered vehicles are towed off campus or to the Ohio parking lot, where the vehicle is "booted," and the owner is billed as outlined below.

Only vehicles with Bennington College temporary handicap permits or state-issued handicap permits may park in handicap parking spaces. Students who need a campus handicap parking permit should contact the Director of Student Accessibility Services.

All other vehicles parked in a handicap parking area will be ticketed and fined $100 per offense. No warning tickets will be issued.

Unauthorized vehicles in handicap spots that are registered with Campus Safety may be towed to the Ohio parking lot. The owner is billed as outlined below. Unregistered vehicles are towed off campus or to the Ohio parking lot, where the vehicle is "booted," and the owner is billed as outlined below.

Fees will be automatically billed to the student’s account as follows:

- Boot install & removal: $50

- Tow and boot (on campus): $150

- Tow (off campus): $50 fine (+ tow charge as assessed by tow company)

- Unregistered tow and boot: $250 (includes late registration)

Students may park temporarily with the flashers on in a marked loading zone, not to exceed 30 minutes. If a vehicle is parked in a loading zone without the flashers on and/or for more than 30 minutes, the vehicle will be ticketed and may be towed.

The Campus Safety Office recognizes that some students may not feel comfortable walking across campus after dark. To support students in feeling safe on campus after dark, any student may call Campus Safety and request an officer drive them from one on-campus location to another, including Paran Creek Apartments and Welling Townhouse. This also applies when the temperature or windchill is excessively cold.

Students may appeal a parking ticket based on one of the following:

- The vehicle in question was not parked in the area as indicated, and date-stamped photographic evidence is provided.

- The student can produce a Campus Safety issued temporary parking permit for the area where they were parked, dated for the date the ticket was issued.

- The student experienced a medical emergency and can provide appropriate medical documentation to demonstrate it occurred at the time the ticket was received.

Appeal forms are available in the Campus Safety office and should be returned to the Director of Campus Safety for consideration.