Parking: When & Where to Park Legally
All vehicles must be registered to park on Williams college Property
The Cardinal Rule of Parking – During the work day, Monday through Friday, the only place students can legally park on Williams College property is in their assigned lots, all other areas are restricted!
Responsibility – It is the student’s responsibility to keep track of the number of violations. This is especially important in regards to the suspension level tickets (violations 11 or higher) which are all a minimum of $201.00.
Seasonal Changes
April 15 – November 15
- Students may park in Faculty/Staff spaces between the hours of 5:00pm and 5:00am, Monday through Friday nights.
- Students may park in Faculty/Staff spaces between the hours of 9:00am and 5:00am on Saturday and Sunday.
Snow Season
November 16 – April 14
- Students may park in Faculty/Staff spaces between the hours of 5:00pm and 2:00am, Monday through Friday nights.
- Students may park in Faculty/Staff spaces between the hours of 9:00am and 2:00am on Saturday and Sunday.
General Vehicle Regulations – Because of limited parking facilities, the use of motor vehicles on campus by students must be kept to a minimum and parking regulations must be strictly observed. All student vehicles, on or off campus, must be registered with Campus Safety Services. This must be done upon arrival in Williamstown (see Section 3, Chapter 90, General Laws of Massachusetts). To complete this process the following documents will be needed: vehicle registration/certificate for vehicle and evidence of liability coverage for any authorized operator of the vehicle. If your vehicle is not properly registered with the College, the entire campus is restricted at all times.
-
- The owner or person in charge of a motor vehicle is responsible for all violations involving his or her vehicle, regardless of who is driving the vehicle.
- Hopkins Hall Drive and CTD Drive are ONE WAY ONLY streets, north from Main Street.
- Vehicles may not operate on campus in excess of 20 miles per hour and in many locations the speed should be much lower.
- All vehicles must be registered and appropriate decals/hang-tags must be displayed.
- Any student who exchanges, alters, sells, accepts or gives away their parking decal to another student will lose their parking privileges for the remainder of the school year and may also be subject to disciplinary action.
- Any student who registers a vehicle belonging to another student, particularly a first-year student, both students will lose their parking privileges for the remainder of the school year and the first year student for their Sophomore year.
- Any student who attempts to forge a faculty/staff decal will lose their parking privileges indefinitely as a student during their time here at Williams.
- Students who have family who work here are only permitted to use their vehicle for off campus purposes, never on campus for any reason, unless registered as a student vehicle and are assigned a student parking decal.
- A Williams College student parking decal must be displayed on the exterior, lower right hand corner of the rear window.
- The parking rules and regulations are in effect 365 days a year.
- Students with hybrid or electric vehicles are permitted to use charging stations only during faculty/staff exception hours and never the ones on the top level of the parking garage.
Exceptions
-
- Congregational Church Lot – No student parking at any time.
- Danforth Lot – No overnight parking.
- Hopkins Hall Drive – NO STUDENT PARKING AT ANY TIME, this includes the temporary spaces.
- Jesup Parking Lot – No student parking at any time in the “west bay” closest to Physics.
- Lawrence Hall Drive – Students may park there between the hours of 5:00pm and 5:00am, Friday – Wednesday and 8:00pm – 5:00am on Thursdays (snow season hours applicable).
- Parking Garage – No student parking on the top two levels, lowest level is allowed only if assigned through CSS and with a valid permit.
- Service/Security spaces – No student parking at any time.
- Stetson Court – Student parking is allowed only during faculty/staff exception hours.
- Taconic Lot – Students may park in the Taconic Golf Club lot as early as 3:30pm on weekdays and 9:00am on weekends, no overnight parking allowed. (snow season hours applicable).
- Temporary Spaces – No student parking unless specifically designated on the sign.
- Town Streets – Please check for time limits, no overnight parking which is enforced by the WPD year-round.
- Town Parking Lots – No overnight parking on Spring St. Municipal Lot & Water Street Dirt Lot which are enforced by the WPD year-round.
- Towne Field House Lot – Students may park in the lot between Facilities and the Towne Field House as early as 3:30pm on weekdays and 9:00am on weekends, no overnight parking allowed. (snow season hours applicable).
- Williams Inn – No student parking at any time.
- Student Lots – At no time are students allowed to park in other student lots.
Penalties – All rules are strictly enforced. We do, however, give every owner/person in charge of a motor vehicle two warnings per academic year for non-major offenses ($50 violations). (Not applicable for first year students.) Violations are assessed as follows:
-
- Failure to register a motor vehicle $50.00
- Failure to properly display a parking permit $50.00
- Overtime parking $50.00
- Parking in restricted area $50.00
- Parking in Faculty/Staff space (if student) $50.00
- Parking in a student space (if Faculty/Staff) $50.00
- Parking on the grass $50.00
- Excessive speed $101.00
- Failure to stop at a marked intersection stop/yield $101.00
- Parking in an Accessible Parking Only Space $101.00
- Parking in a Fire Lane $101.00
- Wrong Way – one way $101.00
- Boot removal fee $201.00
- Suspended vehicle (ten tickets or more) $201.00
An immobilizing device may be placed on unregistered or unidentified vehicles found repeatedly parked illegally on campus. It will be necessary for the person responsible for the vehicle to report to Campus Safety Services before the immobilizer is removed. There will be a $201.00 fee assessed to remove the boot and the total fine must be either paid in full or placed on a term bill.
Vehicle privileges will be suspended on the tenth ticket and will be in effect for the remainder of the current academic year. However, if a student receives five suspension level tickets, the ban will also be in effect the next academic year.
Tickets will be placed on vehicles that are illegally parked or in violation of a rule or regulation. All student parking fines will be billed directly to the student’s term bills and payments should be made at the Finance Department’s office on the first floor in Hopkins Hall.
Ticket Appeals – Ticket appeals must all be made in writing within 30 days (no exceptions) of the date of the ticket and will only be accepted if the citation is attached (no exceptions.) Forms are available at Campus Safety Services in the basement of Hopkins Hall. The Ticket Appeals Committee will decide the merits of all individual ticket appeals. The Ticket Appeals Committee has three voting members representing the Faculty, Staff and Students. The Committee’s decision is final.
Visitor Parking – Visitors to campus must register their vehicle with the Campus Safety Services Department, located in the basement of Hopkins Hall. Visitor parking tags can be obtained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and are valid for 3 days only. Visitor parking is located in the lower Chapel Lot.
”IT IS UNLAWFUL FOR A NONRESIDENT STUDENT TO FAIL TO FILE A NONRESIDENT DRIVER STATEMENT WITH THE POLICE DEPARTMENT LOCATED IN THE SAME CITY OR TOWN AS THE SCHOOL OR COLLEGE ATTENDED, IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 3 OF CHAPTER 90 OF THE MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL LAWS. FAILURE TO FILE SUCH STATEMENT IS PUNISHABLE BY A FINE NOT TO EXCEED $200.”