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Of all of the nice things that I have said about the University of Virginia in my previous articles, there are a few things that are slightly annoying about the area. Parking is a serious issue around the University. Even though the campus is located in a suburban area there are very limited parking spaces.

There are only a few parking garages on campus, which are not that convenient and are expensive. Furthermore, the majority of parking spaces are taken by people that purchased yearly parking passes, which are hard to come by. There are a few parking lots and random parking spaces around the campus that people can park in after 5:00 PM. However, since there are very few spaces and almost 19,000 students attending the University, it is extremely difficult to get one of those spaces. You need to be lucky to get a spot.

Due to the fact that there are few places to park your car, it is almost imperative to live near campus as a student. It would be extremely difficult and expensive to commute to school.

The University takes the parking situation very seriously and enforces it. The University employs a full-time staff to drive around campus all day looking specifically for cars that are parked illegally or in spots that require a permit. The parking fines start at 25 dollars and increase dramatically. It is difficult to obtain a parking permit for one of the registered parking lots because so many students and University employees want them. The permits are in high demand and are therefore expensive.

Even during the summer when the majority of students have left campus, the University strictly enforces the parking situation. I can remember one summer when I received a parking ticket for parking in the parking lot next to the football stadium.

The parking lot holds almost 3,000 cars and there are very few cars parked there during the summer. Despite the fact that there are so many empty parking spaces, all of the parking permits for that lot are taken and people cannot park there. The University certainly did not plan well for the number of cars that would be on campus, which is both annoying and frustrating.

Parking and Transportation: University Transit Service

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