WTAMU announced a change to the traffic appeals process on Feb. 20. The new process will allow students to appeal parking tickets prior to payment.

“There was some current concern about paying [the parking ticket] and then appealing it,” Chance Haugen, director of the JBK Student Center, said. “[The change will] make the process go by more quickly.”

The old appeals process required the student to pay the citation before filing the appeal, but Haugen said this caused problems.

“To make the refund, the process takes a while,” he said. “It takes two weeks to give the check back. It’s also harder to make a decision [concerning appeals] because you used to be able to appeal at any time during the semester.”The new process will require students to file their appeal within 20 days of the citation. Once the appeals committee comes to a decision, the student will either have their ticket appealed or pay the citation.

“I think [the new process] makes more sense,” Colton Harada, a senior Broadcasting major said. “No one is really good about refunding money back.”

David Atkeisson, a junior History major, appealed his only parking ticket through the old appeals process.

“I had to park in Jarrett because Guenther was full,” Atkeisson said. “I came back later with a ticket because I was parked at a yellow curb with parking lines.”

Atkeisson took pictures on his phone and showed them to Parking Services, where they waived his ticket on the spot.

“They said it was stupid and I didn’t have to pay at all,” he said. “Later, they replaced the parking line with hash marks.”

Although Atkeisson had special circumstances concerning his ticket, he believes the new appeals process will be more efficient.

“There shouldn’t be a need to take money that they’re gonna give back,” he said. “It seems like an extra step.”