Sacramento State’s University Transportation and Parking Services (UTAPS) office appointed Tony Lucas as the new senior director this semester to replace Nancy Fox, who retired after 35 years on the job.

Lucas was the previous director of administrative services for the Sac State Police Department, who said the transition to UTAPS “has been pretty smooth.”

“There are similarities in that both of these organizations are staffed with professionals with a sincere desire to serve the campus community,” said Lucas.

Because he is currently familiarizing himself with existing UTAPS procedures, Lucas said he did not anticipate any immediate policy changes.

He did, however, express interest in upgrading transportation services for the campus community.

“I am interested in exploring opportunities to provide enhanced alternate transportation options to students, faculty and staff, as well as continuing our efforts to improve services and streamline processes,” Lucas said.

With regards to any new potential parking structures being built or changes in parking pass prices, Lucas said things were to remain the same for now.

“There isn’t a compelling need to build a new parking structure at this time, as there is currently adequate parking available on campus for students, faculty and staff,” Lucas said.

“The fee structure includes a 2 percent annual increase, but there are no current plans to change parking permit rates for students beyond that…we’ll continue to assess this,” Lucas said.

Having officially started his position no more than two weeks ago, Lucas said he and his department were successful in issuing permits and keeping transportation activity under control.

On the first day of the spring semester, Lucas indicated, with the help of Gina Lombardo and Freddy Orozco, UTAPS had broken a record in the number of permit passes distributed to students. Specific figures were not discussed.

Lucas also said campus police and volunteers helped direct traffic and kept the flow of traffic moving efficiently.

Although some students might cringe at the thought of an ex-cop overseeing UTAPS, Lucas seemed optimistic about the future.

“My guess is that students don’t really want to receive paper from either the police officers or the parking officer,” Lucas said. “But both the departments are sincerely interested in interacting with students and are working hard to make more information and services available.”

“I’m excited by the opportunities afforded by my new position and I look forward to engaging with you as we move forward serving the Sac State community,” said Lucas.