BRIEF: U. Police issuing Phila. parking tickets

The tickets, which are issued through the Philadelphia Parking Authority, result in fines from $15 all the way up to $100 depending on the specific violation. Additionally, a ticket not paid within eight days will result in an additional $23 fine. If a single vehicle accumulates six or more unpaid parking tickets, police will lock the wheel of the car to prevent its use. All fines issued are payable to the city of Philadelphia and enforced by the city's traffic court. Police announced the planned changes last December but only began implementing them last week. Previously, University Police could only issue internal University tickets, and students and faculty were trusted to pay on an honors system. Because of this lenient policy, those ticketed often chose to ignore the tickets and not pay the fines, University Police Captain John Richardson said. Last December around 90 percent of the tickets went unpaid, he said. -- Elie Landau