Parking!!!

Colleges and Universities A-Z Indiana University - Bloomington
1

Parking is not the best at IUB and it gets old to park my car deep in Dunn’s Woods under camouflage netting :slight_smile: when I visit campus… So could you please confirm what my student said?

You can park weekends (Friday 5 or 6 pm to Sunday at 11:00 PM) on any CH1 / CH2 parking lot, say, Forest or Wilkie) without any permit. In fact, IU Parking Operations says:

"Any vehicle may park in any CH or ST zone from 5 p.m. on Friday through 11 p.m. on Sunday, with or without a current parking permit. " as in https://parking.indiana.edu/parking-rules/free-parking.html

If that’s the case, why are all the CH and ST zones I’ve seen so far say “24 hour tow away” in such spots?

There are also meters at Forest and the web site says… “Parking in most metered spaces is free from 10 p.m. Friday until 7 a.m. Monday. (Meters are enforced 7 a.m.–10 p.m., Monday through Friday.)”. So Saturday and Sunday are free parking for us deserving parents to drop by Forest and enjoy a frozen treat?

2

I’ve always just parked at the Jordan Garage since my D is in Spruce. Its free on the weekends. I saw the same thing that you did the other weekend and was going to park in one of the CH spots but then saw the 24 hour tow so decided against it.

3

Interesting… The web site says:

Free parking is available in certain locations on campus during weekends, and holiday and university breaks. A valid IU parking permit is required after 5 p.m., except in a limited number of lots.

Then

Parking garages

Parking is free in IU parking garages all day Saturday and Sunday.

I assume that free means free if you have any IU parking permit. Hence the entry about CH/ST lots not requiring a current permit.

I parked twice at Wilkie and did not get towed on the weekend, but not sure what the proper process is. I’ll send an email to IU Parking and see what they say, sigh… Maybe there are some NON 24 hour tow zone ST/CH spots?

4

I don’t have any type of parking permit. I’ve always just parked in the garage. The gates are up and there is no attendant on duty so when I leave, there is no issue with the gates. The garage for me isn’t really any closer than the spots near Forest, plus I can park on the lower section out of the sun so I don’t come back to a hot car when I’m ready to leave. The only time I’ve paid was on move in day when I parked at the garage and since it was a Monday, I had to pay.

I always figured if a spot is designated free on the weekends then it doesn’t matter if you have a permit or not. The main thing that prevented me was that notice of 24 hour tow and I just didn’t want to risk it and my D had no clue since she doesn’t have her car on campus.