<p>My son will be a freshman (Engineering) in the Fall of 2010. We have already agreed that he will not bring a car to school with him for the start of school and he is fine with that. Because he surfs, he would like to have a car at some point. Could someone let me know the real situation with parking at Cal Poly SLO. He will hopefully be in the Cerro Vista Apts (he signed up 1st day ED housing)- do they offer parking?</p>
<p>(This is my 1st post - but I have been reading the CP threads for months now and have passed it on to friends…it’s really informative!!)</p>
<p>Welcome to the Forum NEWCPMOM and to Cal Poly. To answer your question, parking is available throughout the campus but its expensive; $400 I believe. Add that to the cost of the vehicle plus its insurance (you get a break if he does not have a car) and you’re talking real $$$$. My son is a freshman and an avid kite surfer and has done just fine without a car. Public transportation is free for CP students and there are plenty of upper class students with cars so its easy to shag rides to the beach. All your son really needs is a bike. Another great point others have made in this forum is that if he has a car he’ll end up being the go to person for rides all over the place. Believe me Engineering - my son is AE - is tough enough without that kind of distraction and temptation. Nix the car!</p>
<p>I agree with gotpeter…you can get around fine without a car. My son is a freshman in Cerro and has his car. He took it because he had a job downtown (we live in SLO). The parking lots assigned to Cerro residents are close to the apts. He never has had a problem finding a space. It’s convenient when he and his roommates go food shopping. One of his roommates also has a car. I was worried about him being the go to guy for a ride but this hasn’t been an issue as most of his friends have cars. The only time it happened was during WOW when he drove students in his group to different events. He was fine with that.</p>
<p>gotpeter and slodad^ My son won’t be bringing his car at first. We don’t want the extra cost or the worry. We are open to him bringing it later in the year or when he is a sophomore. I just hope that he will be able to do the shopping he needs to because he will hopefully be in Cerro. I know the campus market is super expensive. We hope that he will learn to use the bus system and of course we will stock him up with food when we come to visit or he comes home. </p>
<p>I know he will miss having a car. The freshman we know who is a ME major says he doesn’t have a lot of extra time to spare and he is doing fine without a car. he mostly walks around campus. i’m not sure how he gets to downtown? </p>
<p>part of me would be happier with my son having his own car, rather than relying on others to drive him around. I worry about that some. Like I said, he is not going to bring it at first and then we will see. </p>
<p>Thanks for the replys, good info. We’re going to stay with the plan of no car to start, then wait and see. Glad to hear that parking is possible with the Cerro Vista Apts. Shopping for food was also a concern of ours, but maybe one of his roommates will have a car. I’m sure at open house we’ll learn more.</p>
<p>We have walked from downtown to campus and it isn’t bad, but not something you would want to do all the time. It takes some time. Maybe a bike? I think the bus sounds good when you have groceries to carry.</p>
<p>Thanks gotpeter My son doesn’t even own a bike right now. the last time he had one was years back and it is too small for him now. We would have to get him a used bike. I think he would be better off walking and using the bus.</p>
<p>The case for a bike is that it provides that extra degree of freedom that the bus does not and its much quicker than walking. I was concerned about theft but that has not been a problem. Just don’t provide a new/expensive one if you choose to do so.</p>
<p>Yes, bikes are very popular - just look how many there are around campus. Just get a decent U-lock and you’ll be fine. My son lives in Sierra Madre and gets out to the Engineering buildings a lot faster on his bike than walking. He rides all over town (and to Albertson’s for groceries) and out to Avila Beach. Doesn’t really miss having a car, except maybe when it rains or he wants to go up the grade to In-n-Out.</p>
<p>They also have Bike Night once a month where the bike riders essentially take over down town. Not sure the locals like it but the kids have a blast.</p>
<p>Yeah, I read that a parking pass is $450 before Aug.1, and $500 after Aug.1. That’s a lot of money for just having a car on campus.
I’m just concerned about going to grocery stores from Cerro Vista without a car.</p>
<p>That is the concern we have for my son too. getting groceries and stuff. I think that is especially a problem for Cerro kids. We plan to not send him with a car and see how it goes. I just saw an add in the Mustang Daily for ZIPCars. You can reant a car for errnads! the insurance is part of the deal. Worth looking into for trips to the store and outings. They could share the cost with others.</p>
<p>Just to add to SLO_pop’s mention of Bike Night, here’s the facebook page for the monthly event: [Bike</a> Happening | San Luis Obispo | Facebook](<a href=“Facebook Public Group | Facebook”>Facebook Public Group | Facebook) for anyone interested. It’s basically one big street gathering on bikes after the Farmers’ Market shuts down. Each ride has a theme, so people will ride in costumes accordingly (although not required). Quite a few of the locals join the rides as well. The police won’t hassle you too much as long as you’re obeying the traffic laws and don’t cause any trouble.</p>