Ohio State Transportation and Parking Services have been experiencing difficulties. The gatearms that allow drivers to pass through the gates of the parking garages and lots are being vandalized almost daily.

“There are about nine different parking garages around campus,” said Doug Fries, senior engineer at Transportation and Parking Services. “On average, about four gatearms a day are broken.”

These broken gatearms are costing the university money.

It costs around $25 for materials and $25 for labor to fix one of these gatearms, equaling about $52,000 annually, Fries said. It costs about $4 for drivers to get out of the parking garages.

Nine parking garages surround campus. There are also gates behind the library, at various control zones around campus and at the overnight lot on West Campus.

Sarah Blouch, director of Transportation and Parking Services, said the gatearms are recycled. Crews shorten them a little and replace them.

“The people who are vandalizing the gatearms don’t wish to pay the autocashier to get out,” she said. “They drive right through them and break the gatearms.”

Gatearms are replaced shortly after they are broken, Fries said.

The gatearms that are being broken are at exit gates in garages. There are few broken at the entrances, and the vandalism usually occurs on evenings and weekends after garage attendants go home.

“We only have one gate on West Campus, which does get broken at times, but the majority of gates and the breakage occurs on central campus, which is evenly distributed between north and south,” Blouch said.

“Transportation and Parking Services do not report broken arms to University Police unless they witness the damage occurring. With as large a campus as OSU, paying for people to watch them all becomes more expensive then repairing them,” Blouch said.

Transportation and Parking Services makes no real profit from the sale of parking. All funds generated are used to support the maintenance, operation and construction of more parking as well as the Campus Area Bus Service.

The cost of repairing gatearms is covered by user fees, including parking permits and garage hourly rates.

Ron Michalec, chief of University Police, said his department gets reports from Transportation and Parking Services, and the police work to inform Transportation and Parking when gatearms are broken.

“No one really comes under suspicion, but people have been caught,” Michalec said. “There are various types of people doing the vandalism, including students.

“We never really find out their motive,” he said.