Having a car as a freshman?

<p>So, there’s a good chance I’ll be attending UC Davis next year. I know that freshmen aren’t allowed to park on campus. Is there any way I can keep a car around (doesn’t have to be on campus, but preferably nearby)? </p>

<p>Look at the question for Davis students thread, apparently if you are willing to move your car on street cleaning day there is a way to do it. I don’t remember the streets. You park off campus, but you would use your bike on campus, anyhow.</p>

<p>If you get put into Cuarto, you can get away with bringing your car, because you don’t need a permit to park along Russell Blvd or along Wake Forest Drive. In fact, you can even park your car in the residential area near Cuarto. You just can’t park in the Cuarto parking lot. </p>

<p>@sopranokitty and if i don’t get put into Cuarto? </p>

<p>Then it’s harder, especially if you live in Tercero, because all the parking spaces around Tercero require a parking permit, even along the streets of La Rue. If you get placed into Segundo, you can just park along Anderson Road next to Sycamore Lane Apartments (which is directly behind U-Mall). U-Mall is basically just diagonally across the street from Segundo, anyway. </p>

<p>@sopranokitty‌ I wouldn’t need a permit to park along Anderson Road, right? </p>

<p>No, because that’s not part of UCD property. </p>

<p>@sopranokitty‌ So I wouldn’t need any other kind of permit either (meaning a permit from somewhere other than UCD)?</p>

<p>No, not at all. I see a LOT of cars parked along Anderson Road everyday, and they don’t have permits. On one side of Anderson Road are residential houses (so you can park along the spaces between the driveways), and on the other side (the side of U-Mall) is Sycamore Lane Apartments. Sycamore Lane Apartments requires a permit to park in their parking lot, but because they do NOT own the street Anderson Road, a permit is not required. A permit is not required for street parking off-campus–permits are required only on campus or if you want to park in an apartment complex’s parking lot (though some apartments don’t require a permit or give out permits for free. Of course, the latter is applicable only for residents of that apartment, so you would need to know someone living in those kinds of apartment complexes so they can get a parking permit for you. Anderson Place Apartments in North Davis is one of them.</p>

<p>@sopranokitty‌ Also, is Anderson Road crowded? Is it easy to find a spot there? </p>

<p>One more thing: If I park on Anderson Road or those areas near Cuarto, will I have to move my car weekly? I’ve read in some places that there’s a weekly “street cleaning day” during which parked cars need to be moved or something along those lines… </p>

<p>It’ll tell you on the signs what day you can’t park on those streets, but I remember that along Russell Blvd, street cleaning is done either on Tuesday or Thursday morning (not sure if it’s the same along Anderson and Wake Forest Drive–I didn’t have my car with me when I lived in the dorms). My former suitemate’s boyfriend once got ticketed because he once forgot to move his car on a street cleaning day. On street cleaning days, he simply just moved his car from Russell to Wake Forest Drive (though since a lot of people living in Cuarto either park along Russell Blvd or on Wake Forest Drive, sometimes you have to park far away from the dorms. My suitemate’s boyfriend once had to park close to what used to be the Castilian dorms for transfer students because of the large amount of cars parked along Wake Forest Drive). </p>

<p>As for parking on Anderson Road and how crowded it is, it depends. Looking at Anderson Road on street view on Google Maps can help you see what that street is like and where cars typically park. I should note that you cannot park in spots where buses pull into when they pick up/drop off passengers. </p>

<p>@sopranokitty‌ Are there places off campus besides the ones you mentioned where I can park a car? Just curious. </p>

<p>Some apartment complexes have unreserved parking (meaning you don’t have to have a permit to park in their parking lots), but those apartments tend to be far from campus. For example, the Sorrento Apartments has unreserved parking, but it’s located in South Davis. You could also ask any upperclassmen if they have any free parking spaces at their apartment that you could park at. </p>