Transportation & Parking Services continuously strives to improve the parking experience at the university for faculty, staff, students and visitors.
To accomplish this goal and address limited parking availability on campus, Transportation & Parking Services (TPS) is focused on maximizing the utilization of current assets, identifying and supporting additional resources and ensuring that spaces reserved for those with a permit are protected from violators. Currently, several strategies are underway to support these parking efforts.
Nine hundred parking spaces were added in 2022, and additional parking options are available for the 2023-24 academic year:
- Two unused tennis courts at University Housing facilities have been converted for parking, adding 200 spaces.
- An additional 86 spaces were added over the summer to the Veterinary Medical Learning Center (Vet Med) on College Station.
- The university has extended the lease of the former Holiday Inn space near the corner of Lumpkin Street and Broad Street throughout this academic year, offering 270 spaces.
- The addition of a new bus stop will make 120 spaces available for Park & Ride use at the Recreational Sports Complex.
- Finally, the Hull Street Parking Deck expansion will be completed this fall, adding nearly 400 additional spaces.
New parking options are also being planned for future years, including a proposed parking deck near the West Campus Parking Deck, Phase V of the existing College Station Park & Ride lot and additional Park & Ride locations on College Station Road near Vet Med and on South Milledge Avenue across from the Soccer/Softball Complex.
For several years, TPS has managed lots through industry-best practices, including License Plate Recognition Technology, resulting in parking rates that have not increased since 2008. Recognizing a recent increase in violations in a number of lots on the Athens campus, TPS has initiated a phased project to install parking gates in areas most impacted by non-compliance. The North Deck will pilot this new gate technology, and TPS will continue to expand this to other areas of campus where gates can help protect permit holders in a fiscally responsible manner.
To further address issues of non-permitted parking on campus that have become prevalent in recent months, TPS has made several enhancements, including a new citation escalation plan that went into effect Aug. 1. Part of this strategy consists of booting vehicles on third and fourth citations, doubling the cost of citations after booting, and towing when a parking violator receives an eighth citation. Additional staff and vehicles have been deployed to support compliance with these policies as well as to ensure appropriate use of Departmental Permits.
Finally, a concerted awareness campaign is underway to educate incoming students and their supporters about campus alternatives to parking, such as walking, riding the bus, biking and carpooling. These efforts include an emphasis on leaving cars at home.
TPS will continue offering its response team to monitor specific trouble areas should the need arise. This team can be contacted at 706-542-PARK or 706-542-7275.