CHAPTER 71. COMMONWEALTH PARKING FACILITIES
GENERAL PROVISIONS; ALLOCATION OF PARKING PERMITS Sec.
71.1. Purpose.
71.2. General.
71.3. Responsibilities.
71.4. Suggested priorities for parking assignments.
71.5. Trading assigned parking permits.
71.6. Miscellaneous requirements and prohibitions.
TEMPORARY PARKING PERMITS
71.11. General requirements.
71.12. Monthly report.
LOST OR STOLEN PERMITS
71.21. Reporting and investigating.
SPECIAL VISITOR PARKING
71.31. General requirement.
USE OF PARKING FACILITIES
71.41. Surveys to insure maximum utilization.
71.42. Instructions to permit holders.
71.43. Underground garages.
71.44. Compliance with procedure, parking violations, fines and penalties.
71.45. Illegally parked vehicles to be towed away.
71.46. Parking areas—Capitol complex.Authority The provisions of this Chapter 71 issued under section 2402 of The Administrative Code of 1929 (71 P. S. § 632), unless otherwise noted.
Source The provisions of this Chapter 71 adopted August 24, 1973, 3 Pa.B. 1768, unless otherwise noted.
GENERAL PROVISIONS; ALLOCATION OF PARKING PERMITS
§ 71.1. Purpose.
This chapter has been promulgated to effect maximum utilization of parking facilities available for use by Commonwealth employes and to provide standard rules and regulations for the administration and management of the parking facilities.
§ 71.2. General.
(a) The Commonwealth will recognize to the best of its ability its responsibility for providing parking facilities for those employes who are required to travel by privately owned vehicle to their place of employment. It should be realized, however, that the Commonwealth is unable to provide parking facilities for all employes.
(b) Parking permits will be allocated on the basis of Capitol Complex Employe Complement of each department, board, or commission.
(c) The head of each department, board, or commission with offices and employe complement in the Capitol Complex area shall name an individual to act as parking officer to function in his stead in all matters peculiar to the administration and management of that part of the Commonwealth Parking System as pertains to his agency. The name, title, telephone number and office address of the parking officer, hereafter referred to as Departmental Parking Officer, shall be furnished to the Commonwealth Parking Officer, Department of General Services.
§ 71.3. Responsibilities.
(a) Commonwealth Parking Officers shall have the following duties:
(1) To allocate parking spaces for use of Capitol Complex Employe Complement of departments, boards and commissions, of the Commonwealth.
(2) To establish and define parking assignment reporting requirements.
(3) To maintain appropriate records of parking allocations and assignments.
(4) To respond to or refer inquiries relative to assignment of parking permits to the appropriate parking officer.
(5) To procure and furnish department Parking Officers with adequate supplies of permanent and temporary parking permits.
(6) To coordinate all matters peculiar to special policing requirements of parking areas with the Superintendent—Capitol Police, Department of General Services.
(b) Departmental Parking Officers shall have the following duties:
(1) To assign allocated parking spaces to members of the employe complement of their department, board or commission. Parking permits, permanent or temporary shall be assigned only to agency allocations.
(2) To review parking assignments periodically to insure compliance with purpose and intent of the rules and regulations.
(3) To maintain records of parking allocations and assignments.
(4) To compile and submit reports required by the Commonwealth Parking Officer or other authority.
§ 71.4. Suggested priorities for parking assignments.
The following priorities should be given prime consideration in the assignment of parking spaces:
(1) Officials requiring the car for performance of assigned duties, such as department heads or other officials using the car during the day for official business.
(2) Handicapped employe, who cannot reach employment except by his own car, due to disability.
(3) Commuter, from an area beyond public transportation, who cannot reach employment except by his own car.
(4) State car, regularly assigned, which must be parked near the agency for daily business use. On the parking permits for State cars, the bureau, division, or other unit designation shall be listed in the name and address column along with the license number and category.
(5) Car pools. For car pools, a permit shall be assigned to a principal driver and recorded as such by the Departmental Parking Officer, along with alternate drivers. The alternate driver may use this permit during any absence of the principal driver, if duplicate bumper permits have not been issued.
§ 71.5. Trading assigned parking permits.
(a) The Departmental Parking Officer shall approve or disapprove the trading of assigned permits between employes of his department.
(b) The trading of assigned permits between employes of different departments is prohibited and the Departmental Parking Officers shall recall the parking permit from the assignee.
§ 71.6. Miscellaneous requirements and prohibitions.
(a) Types and styles of parking permits shall vary with need. Specific instructions for the type and style of the permit shall be furnished to the employe with the permit at the time of issue. These instructions are in addition to the requirements contained in the Commonwealth Parking Regulations.
(b) Departmental Parking Officers shall insure that no employe has the use of more than one parking space on Commonwealth parking facilities.
(c) Vehicle operators shall be personally responsible for insuring that parking permits are properly positioned or displayed on the vehicle they park on Commonwealth parking facilities.
(d) Parking permits shall be replaced when they are no longer legible. Permits, or evidence that permanently affixed permits have been physically removed from vehicle bumpers shall be returned to Departmental Parking Officers with request for replacement.
(e) Parking permits, or evidence that permanently affixed permits have been physically removed from vehicle bumpers shall be returned to the Departmental Parking Officer, agency of issue, when an employe departs State service, transfers to another State agency, or at the request of the Departmental Parking Officer.
(f) Display of placards, or signs designating ‘‘Official Business,’’ ‘‘Messenger,’’ ‘‘Mail Car,’’ ‘‘Service Car,’’ and the like, in lieu of the official parking permit provided by the Department of General Services is not authorized and the operator shall be cited for violation of the parking rules and regulations.
(g) The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is not responsible for fire, theft or damage to any vehicle, or its contents while it is parked on Commonwealth parking facilities.
(h) Unauthorized fabrication, or duplication of official parking permits is unlawful, and offenders shall be cited for violation of laws, rules and regulations.
(i) Parking permits shall, in so far as possible and practical, be issued for the nearest available parking area to the employes place of employment.
TEMPORARY PARKING PERMITS
§ 71.11. General requirements.
(a) Temporary parking permits shall be issued only against known vacancies in permanently allocated spaces. All temporary permits shall be typewritten, and any attempt to correct such permit shall void it.
(b) Upon the expiration of the time designated on the temporary permit, such permit shall be returned to the Departmental Parking Officer. Failure to do so shall forfeit future parking privileges.
(c) Temporary parking permits shall not be issued for parking areas Numbered one, two, three or four.
(d) A temporary parking permit shall not be issued to an employe who leaves his personal car parked in an assigned space for a State car. The permanent parking permit for the State car may be transferred to the personal car, but shall be returned to the State car when the State car is parked in its assigned area.
§ 71.12. Monthly report.
The monthly report, together with the expired and voided temporary permits, shall be submitted by the tenth of the following month to the Commonwealth Parking Officer, Department of General Services.
LOST OR STOLEN PERMITS
§ 71.21. Reporting and investigating.
(a) Lost or stolen permits shall be reported to the Commonwealth Parking Officer by giving the name of the person to whom permit was issued, and the permit and lot numbers.
(b) The person using a State car shall be responsible for notifying the Departmental Parking Officer if the State car has no permit. Unless there is evidence of a theft through breakin, the person who operated the State car preceding the report shall be responsible for the loss of the permit.
(c) The Commonwealth Parking Officer shall request a 30-day search by the Capitol Police. If the permit is not found by then, the Commonwealth Parking Officer shall issue a replacement permit. However, after the 30-days, the Capitol Police shall continue to check for lost or stolen permits.
(d) During the 30-day search period, depending on circumstances, a temporary permit may or may not be issued against the regular permit.
(e) The Departmental Parking Officer should require factual information concerning the reported lost or stolen permit before requesting an investigation by the Capitol Police.
SPECIAL VISITOR PARKING
§ 71.31. General requirement.
(a) Agency requirements for special visitor parking for conferences, committee meetings, and other special purposes shall be submitted to the Commonwealth Parking Officer at least four working days prior to the date of requirement.
(b) The Commonwealth Parking Officer shall then request the Capitol Police to make provisions for these special requirements in certain designated areas. Inasmuch as the special visitor parking areas are limited, requests shall be honored on a first come, first served basis.
USE OF PARKING FACILITIES
§ 71.41. Surveys to insure maximum utilization.
(a) Surveys shall be made periodically by the Commonwealth Parking Officer of the various parking facilities to insure maximum utilization.
(b) The survey of the Parking Facilities with lined and numbered stalls shall include a record of unoccupied stalls. Stalls vacant more than half of the time shall be brought to the attention of the Departmental Parking Officers of the departments involved. If such vacancies persist, the Commonwealth Parking Officer may withdraw these spaces from the allocation of such department and reallocate to another agency.
§ 71.42. Instructions to permit holders.
(a) Proper parking accommodations depend upon the cooperation of the employe, Capitol Police and the Departmental Parking Officer. Therefore, the following instructions are issued for the employe so that effective operation of the parking facilities may be achieved:
(1) Pressure sensitive bumper sticker permits shall be displayed on the front and rear bumpers of the vehicles. Other style permits shall be displayed where they can be easily read through the windshield on the driver’s side of the vehicle.
(2) Capitol Police Officers are not required to search for the permit or guess as to its information. Failure to comply with permit requirements shall constitute unauthorized parking.
(3) All temporary permits shall be returned to the Departmental Parking Officer upon expiration. Failure to do so shall forfeit future permit privileges. The permit should be safeguarded against loss or theft. There is no routine replacement of lost or stolen permits. Any loss shall be reported immediately to the Departmental Parking Officer so that the Capitol Police may be alerted to watch for its unauthorized use.
(4) Upon leaving employment, even by transfer to another State agency, the permit shall be returned to the Departmental Parking Officer and the new agency should be consulted for parking accommodations. Permits not returned upon separation shall be reported to the Capitol Police as stolen.
(5) Vehicle operators shall not load or unload their passengers on North Street, Fisher Plaza, Commonwealth Avenue, at bus stops, intersections, entrances, or exits to parking lots, or in areas designated for pedestrian movement. Passengers should be loaded or unloaded at assigned parking space.
(b) Parking permits shall be issued by the Departmental Parking Officer on the basis of relative need. They can be recalled as circumstances and needs change throughout the year.
§ 71.43. Underground garages.
The following provisions shall be complied with by personnel using the underground garages:
(1) Parking spaces in the underground garages are assigned by individual stall numbers. The permit shows the stall number and does not authorize parking in any other stall. If the stall is found to be already occupied, report this to the Capitol Police Officer on duty and park only as he directs. Do not park in someone else’s assigned stall.
(2) Parking in the garage on any level shall be restricted to passenger cars and station wagons. Trucks of any type are not authorized.
(3) When entering the garage follow the directional signs, arrows, and the directions of the Capitol Police Officer on duty.
(4) Radio antennas shall be kept down to the roof level of the car, due to low ceiling height.
(5) Vehicles shall not be driven in excess of ten miles per hour.
(6) Headlights shall be turned on low beam at all times when the car is in motion.
(7) The horn shall be sounded only to avoid an accident. All cars shall be brought to a full stop before entering the garage.
(8) The doors for the bottom level of the garage (Area 17 on the diagram set forth in § 71.46 (relating to parking areas—Capitol complex)) will be locked at 7 p.m. Therefore, all cars shall be off the bottom level by 7 p.m. After 7 p.m., all ramps except ramp number 4 on the intermediate level (Area 16 on the diagram in § 71.46 (relating to parking areas—Capitol complex)) will be locked. All traffic for the intermediate level after 7 p.m. shall use ramp number 4 and if entering the intermediate level, park at the direction of the officer on duty.
(9) In case of fire, individuals should remain calm. The building is fireproof and fire extinguishers are available to combat gasoline and oil fires.
(10) No engines are to be run unnecessarily. Engines shall be run only to arrive and depart from a parking position. To preclude unnecessary build-up of carbon monoxide and other gases, no preheating of cars during inclement weather is permitted. Violators shall lose their indoor parking privilege for a violation of the provisions of this subsection.
§ 71.44. Compliance with procedure, parking violations, fines andpenalties.
(a) General. Failure to comply with the procedures contained in this chapter and the posted parking instructions or restrictions at Commonwealth owned or leased parking areas shall constitute unauthorized parking and operators of vehicles involved in the violation will be cited accordingly.
(b) Parking violations. Additionally, vehicle operators will be cited for violation when the vehicle they are operating, whether attended or unattended, is parked in any of the following:
(1) No parking zone.
(2) Bus zone.
(3) Unloading zone or entrance ramp.
(4) Reserved parking space or stall.
(c) Fines and payment. Any person who receives from a Capitol Police Officer a citation for violation of the parking rules and regulations contained in this chapter may pay a fine of $5 (increased to $6.00 if not paid within 48 hours from date of violation) at the Capitol Police Office, Room 1, Basement, Main Capitol Building, Harrisburg, Pennsylvania 17125. If the violator fails to pay the fine within the cited period, the record of violation will be forwarded to the District Justice of Peace.
(d) Penalty. Any person violating this chapter shall, upon summary conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of $6 and costs of prosecution and in default of payment, imprisonment for not more than 5 days.
(e) Enforcement provisions. Enforcement provisions shall conform with the following:
(1) Informations, charging violations of any of the summary provisions of this chapter in such detail as the department may prescribe as being necessary for its records, shall be brought before the designated District Justice of Peace within the city, borough, incorporated town, or township in the county where the alleged violation occurred within 90 days after the commission of the alleged offense and not thereafter, except that where an information is filed against a person prima facie guilty of a summary offense, and it subsequently appears that a person other than the person named in the information was the offender or violator, an information may be filed against such other person within 30 days after his or her identity shall have been discovered, and not thereafter.
(2) Any salaried member of the Capitol Police, Commonwealth Property Police, Security or Campus Police employed by the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, when in uniform or exhibiting his badge or other sign of authority, whenever a violation of the rules and regulations described in this chapter is committed in his presence, shall be vested with the authority to present the alleged offender a printed notice citing the offense or violation, the reverse side of which shall contain the amounts of the fines and instructions for payment.
(3) The police authority, upon accepting the fine from an individual for a cited offense of violation, shall issue a receipt to the person acknowledging payment and shall record the payment upon the docket. If payment is made by check or money order, no receipt will be prepared. When cleared by bank or Post Office the check or money order provides a record of payment.
Source The provisions of this § 71.44 amended through August 9, 1974, 4 Pa.B. 1668. Immediately preceding text appears at serial page (12126).
§ 71.45. Illegally parked vehicles to be towed away.
Unauthorized, illegally parked vehicles on Commonwealth parking facilities shall be towed away and placed in storage at the owner’s expense.
§ 71.46. Parking areas—Capitol complex.
The following is a diagram of the parking areas within the Capitol complex in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania:
Cross References This section cited in 4 Pa. Code § 71.43 (relating to underground garages).
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