<p>I will be starting at Duke in a few weeks and I was wondering what people had to say about the parking situation. I have been on the waitlist for a parking spot for a month and haven't gotten a spot yet. What do people without parking spaces do when they get to campus? Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.</p>
<p>Many students don’t have cars, so it’s not absolutely necessary. I’m sure you’ll find friends who have cars who you can ask for rides. </p>
<p>As for the parking situation: generally ****ty. You won’t be able to parking anywhere near the academic buildings during the day so you can forget about driving to class. The only decent parking is for freshmen and central campus because it’s so close to the residential buildings. Otherwise, commuters and west campus students park in the blue zone which is like half a world away. </p>
<p>Also, parking fines are ridiculously high for even the smallest of infractions.</p>
<p>Thank you for your input. Do you need a permit for the blue zone? I won’t be an undergrad so I won’t qualify for residential parking. I will be living outside of Durham so I think driving is pretty vital. Is there a bus system that supplants the need for parking? Park and rides?</p>
<p>belevitt - Since you are a grad student have you looked at this website:</p>
<p>[Duke</a> Parking and Transportation: Student Permits](<a href=“http://www.parking.duke.edu/parking/permits/students/index.php]Duke”>http://www.parking.duke.edu/parking/permits/students/index.php)</p>
<p>Most Graduate and Professional students commute from off campus to Duke. Parking is provided to graduate and professional students in mid- to low-priced commuter lots throughout campus. </p>
<p>This says grad student permit sales end July 31st:</p>
<p>[Duke</a> Parking and Transportation: Graduate & Professional Students](<a href=“http://www.parking.duke.edu/parking/permits/students/graduate_students.php]Duke”>http://www.parking.duke.edu/parking/permits/students/graduate_students.php)</p>
<p>Well, darn. I did see this website and put myself on the waiting list a couple of weeks ago but I didn’t see that there was a end date. That ratchets up the stress on getting this taken care of.</p>
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<p>Grad students get to park in the Green Zone, which is actually closer than the Blue Zone. Not sure if everybody is guaranteed Green Zone parking though…But I’m sure they’ll be parking somewhere for you.</p>
<p>The green zone isn’t exactly closer. There are satellite green lots closer to west campus, but the main green zone closer to WaDuke than it is to campus. The good thing is that there’s a bus that connects the green zone lot with science drive. </p>
<p>As for the wait list…can’t help there since I don’t know about it very much. One thing you can try is to ask if there are any grad students that you know who lives on central and don’t have a car (they do exist). They might be willing to buy a central permit for you. Possibly…</p>
<p>A lot of grad students also parallel on the side of the road in various places on/around campus. You have to get there early (8,9) to be assured a spot, however. </p>
<p>Swift Ave is popular, as well as off Anderson, Alexander. You can also park off East Campus, but those are 2 hour spots.</p>
<p>Talk to students in your department, see what they’ve done in terms of parking in that past. You should certainly, however, be able to get a permit.</p>
<p>I’m in the same boat as you belevitt so if the boat’s sinking we’re going down together. I’m also off campus, still on the waitlist, and the system won’t let me buy s***</p>
<p>Just so you know Duke has looked at building additional parking in the form of what I call parking garages, but in North Carolina they are called parking decks - but the outcry from the surrounding neighborhoods was so great they had to drop the plans.</p>
<p>The neighborhood associations around Duke are vigilant about any development and pack the city council meeting to protest hotels, apartments, etc.</p>
<p>This is a good website with other blog links if you want to see what goes on in Durham - I think there are some links to foodie blogs also which might be of interest to you.</p>
<p>[Bull</a> City Rising](<a href=“http://www.bullcityrising.com/]Bull”>http://www.bullcityrising.com/)</p>
<p>In fact the first story contains this gem which explains why Duke runs its own bookstore instead of hiring B&N to manage it:</p>
<p>Meanwhile, Duke remains one of the shrinking number of college campuses that runs its own bookstore instead of bringing in an outside company like B&N to run theirs, a matter that was of great consternation and subject to much negotiation by Old West Durham and Ninth Street stakeholders during the Central Campus discussions some years back.</p>
<p>At Duke the tour guides mentioned frequently how parking was abundant on-campus. Apparently that’s not so simple…according to this thread?</p>
<p>If you’re an undergraduate, parking is no problem whatsoever (minus lots which are “far” from your dorm. finding A spot period is never an issue) </p>
<p>This thread is addressing graduate student permits, which are apparently much more difficult to come by (depending on your school and what permit you need)</p>
<p>If you are an undergrad on East Campus parking is usually not an issue. Once you move to West Campus most students park in the Blue Zone. This parking has restrictions - when there are football or basketball games you are required to move your car to open up parking for those coming to attend the games.</p>
<p>If you do not move your car it is towed and you have to pay $$$$$ to retrieve it. Also, the cars in the lots which are remote in terms of foot traffic are often broken into. My D who does not have a car on campus has many times told me of times when the cars of her friends were broken into. One semester a friend had to replace a broken window at least two times.</p>
<p>Maybe if you get desperate you can pay an undergrad to buy a blue zone permit for you…</p>