With parking spaces dwindling around the campus area, local business owners are forced to keep a watchful eye on their customer-only parking spots.
And they aren’t afraid to tow illegally-parked cars.
“The reason we have our lot patrolled so heavily is so our customers have a place to park when they come to eat,” said Sunshine Wang, a manager of the McDonald’s on High Street.
Some businesses have been forced to hire outside companies to patrol their lots.
“If you do not immediately come into our restaurant to eat, your car will be towed,” said Carlos Rodriguez, manager of Wendy’s on High Street. “Our employees have parking stickers on their cars so the towing company knows who our employees are.” Rodriguez said the Wendy’s lot is patrolled 24 hours a day.
Campus area restaurants have also posted several signs with towing warnings.
Katie Price, a graduate student in physical therapy has attended Ohio State for five years, but she said she’s still leery of parking around campus businesses.
“I’ve never parked at the McDonald’s parking lot, even when I’ve eaten there. I’ve had several people tell me horror stories about their cars being towed. So I’ve never tried to park there,” Price said.
Long’s Bookstore also keeps an eye on their parking lot.
“If we notice cars in our lot, we contact the towing company to come tow them,” said Kathy Smith, general manager of Long’s and Ohio State University Bookstores.
Construction on Lane Avenue has also affected traffic.
“Several of our spots are not usable anymore because of construction,” said Andrea Rettig, general manager of Subway, located on the corner of Lane and Neil avenues. “We know which cars belong to our employees, so if we see a car in the lot for a long time we will call the towing company and have them towed.”
Tommy’s Pizza, located on Lane Avenue, also finds it hard to patrol their lot.
“We are so busy during the day it’s hard to keep track of who is in our restaurant and who is not. If there are cars in our parking lot before we open or after we close at night we call the towing company to have them towed,” said Jim Roesch, general manager of the restaurant.
Violators of parking lot rules will receive a hefty towing fine – a $90 towing fee, and for every 24 hours the car is in impound, an extra $12. Violators who return to see their car hooked to the tow truck will have to pay $45.
“We have a tow truck in our parking lot during our busiest time of day -11 a.m. to 2 p.m.,” Wang said. The rest of the day the truck periodically monitors the lot.
“It’s always a good idea to keep an eye on your car while you’re in the restaurant,” Wang said. “Sometimes the tow truck drivers do not realize that you are inside eating.”
