At the beginning of the semester, many students shared concerns about not being able to get their preferred parking spot on campus. Parking permit renewals open Nov. 1, and permit sales open Nov. 16, but students remain cautious about getting a spot.
Paige Schaewe, a second-year inter-college transfer student, said she has had trouble getting spots on campus in the past.
“I live off campus, so it is really hard for me to find a good spot on campus that is not as expensive,” Schaewe said. “I thought the process would be easier.”
Caitlyn Blakelock, the parking services manager for NC State Transportation, said this spring, NC State Transportation is focusing less on sales, so students with permits already purchased should have no trouble getting the same spot.
“We are focusing more on renewals during this time,” Blakelock said. “It is not like the fall semester when we are trying to sell a bunch of permits to students. Most students are going to be renewing the permit they already have for the spring semester.”
Renewals for student parking permits open on Nov. 1, and different permits will be assigned different days for renewals. To find which day a permit can be renewed, NC State Transportation has a table highlighting the days and times.
“Some permits will be able to start on Monday, some on Wednesday and some on Friday, and that will go through until the 10th of November at 5 p.m.,” Blakelock said.
Anyone who has a permit for the fall semester will be able to renew during this time period, but will only be able to renew the same type of permit they already have. If a student realizes they need to have a different permit during the renewal period, they can only change to one which already had space available before the renewal process started.
According to Blakelock, as of right now, there are available permits for West Deck, Varsity, the Fringe lots and Dan Allen, so eligible people can purchase these permits during the renewal period.
“We can only do those types of exchanges during the renewal period,” Blakelock said.
Blakelock said this is a question she has received a lot regarding renewing parking passes, and said if students want to switch parking permits to one not available during renewals, they must wait until the open sales begin on Nov. 16.
“If students want to switch permit types, they should not renew their permit, and [they should] participate in the open sales on Nov. 16,” Blakelock said. “By not renewing a permit and participating in the open sales, they would be opening themselves up to the possibility of not being able to purchase the permit type they already have.”
Students who wish to renew will be prioritized before open sales for purchasing a permit begins, so they will have the chance to renew their permits until Nov. 10.
“After renewals close on Nov. 10, we will go through our records and see how many people renewed and see how many permits we still have available,” Blakelock said. “This will determine what available permits we will have on sale for the open permit sales on Nov. 16.”
Anna Kate Uppena, a second-year studying business administration, has not had trouble getting a parking spot on campus in the past.
“I was on the waitlist, but I got off and got a spot relatively quickly, so the process is not too bad,” Uppena said.
If students have questions about renewals or parking on campus, they can contact NC State Transportation by email or at 919-515-3424.
