McAuley's tows in big bucksfrom WSSU parking violators

Changes in the parking policy and procedure at Winston-Salem State in the past two years have been noticed around campus and in wallets.

On any day of the week one is almost guaranteed to see the flashing lights of a McAuley's tow truck as it carries someone's vehicle away. 

With all of the towing  many may wonder, "Where is all of the money that's being made going?"  

The answer to that question is McAuley's Recovery & Towing. 

During the 2008-2009 school year, 1,044 cars were towed said Lt. Patrick Ansel, crime prevention officer with the campus police. 

This is approximately three cars towed per day, 20 cars towed per week, and 87 cars towed per month.

The cost of a towed vehicle is $85 to $95, depending on the time of day the tow occurs. McAuley's collected approximately $88,740 in 2008-2009 from towing vehicles at WSSU alone. 

The only money the University receives from the towing process comes from the citations issued by campus police.

"We make no money from towing," Ansel said. 

Additional fines for parking violation tickets range anywhere from $10  to $250. 

McAuley's Towing has a contract with WSSU for the exclusive rights to tow vehicles from campus, a contract  they have held for the past five years. 

McAuley himself admits that several of his trucks stay on standby just to tow from WSSU. 

"We do a lot of towing from reserved spots, for faculty and staff, as well as no parking zones like the ones for the mail trucks at Brown Hall," McAuley said.

Shanique Marshall, a psychology major from Winston-Salem, said she was fortunate enough to catch a towing company associate as she was preparing to take her car away. 

"He was about to start lifting my truck when I got to the lot," Marshall said. 

"I told the officer that the vehicle was mine and that I would move it, but they went ahead and lifted it anyway. 

"He told me that I had 10 minutes to give him $45, or else he was going to take it [her vehicle] away." 

Both the Traffic Department and McAuley agree that the majority of vehicles being towed from WSSU are towed because they don't display the proper permits.

"We tow to guarantee students a place to park," Ansel said.

 "I promise all of the people that I sell decals to that they will be guaranteed a parking space, so when violators decide that they're going to park where they want and take the spaces reserved for those people that have paid for them I have no choice but to have them towed."

According to McAuley, his company is giving WSSU a better rate than tows made from other locations which can cost $200-$250 elsewhere. 

However, the cost of having a vehicle towed is far more than the cost of buying a decal.

Parking decal prices range from $140 for an on-campus resident or commuter decal, $90 for a student or employee shuttle lot decal, and $5 for a day permit.