Any tips on parking at the main campus for a new student?
Posted Jan 9, 2014, 10:18 AM UTC
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Take 8am classes. Even if you don't have 8am classes, act like you do. Get to campus by 8am to find any parking in the main lots. I've had an 8am class for the past two semesters and I've never had trouble finding parking at that time.
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I use the park and ride if I drive, usually just ride the via bus from home.
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Under I-10 and 1604 the lot used for cyclist. Is that available to students, can I use Leon creek greenway to get to campus?
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It is also used to park and ride the via buses. I don't know if you can on the greenway, I usually ride one of the buses to school.
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The parking under the freeway is basically a carpool/public transit crossroads of sorts with buses in all directions.
Buy a 30$ semester pass or whatever the price is, and take a bus to campus. It'll drop you right next to the Business building.
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I like it. Question, how is the safety?
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I think its fine. Pretty open area and stays fairly busy throughout the day. Most of the time you will see students waiting. There are a couple cameras in the actual parking areas but I don't know how effective they are at preventing theft if that's what you mean. I parked there for a semester and never had a problem/felt uncomfortable
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It's northside San Antonio. Lock your car and keep to yourself and you'll be just fine.
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This is where that garage parking really pays off. Always a spot and a 5 minute walk. Lol.
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Sure, if you have $500-700 to blow on a garage pass.
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A year.
It's cheaper than getting a c pass and parking there everyday or parking there everyday like some people I see
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Cheaper than getting a C pass and parking in the garage, yes.
Cheaper than just a C pass? No. And it's not really that hard to find a space with a C pass. You just have to know where to go.
edit: And $500-700 a year just to park in a garage so you can get there 5 minutes before your class and have a spot is kind of dumb unless you have stupid piles of money to waste. I, and many others, have far better things to spend that money on.
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Lol. My wife and I are both grad students that pay for our own education. I've yet to see parking that's decently close to the engineering buildings.
It's not about getting there 5 minutes before class. It's about not walking 30 minutes Acrosss the parking lot. I guess as all budget for what's important for us.
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Get used to walking… A lot.
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Is now a good time to mention I'm recovering from a broken ankle? If not please disregard.
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Might be grounds to get a temporary handicap spot?
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I would never allow myself that.
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I'm completely against people using handicap spots who don't need it. But if you really are recovering from a broken ankle (a period that I'm familiar with), it would be legitimate. Just my opinion.
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I have spent 45+ minutes looking for a spot before I'm lucky enough to get one before a late class. If you have a later class, get there way early and take something to entertain yourself with.
If it's an option for you, take the bus or the shuttle. Use the park and ride.
Whatever you do, get there 45 mins to an hour before class. If you're anything like me, there's nothing worse than having to rush to class. It makes it really hard for me to calm down enough to learn and focus.
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I think you can find a spot in the lot by the rec until about 8:30. Also you have to remember that parking is worse the first couple weeks of class.
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I was wondering about this last night. Could I just buy the rec center parking permit and be fine?
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No. That lot is open for all students.
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Thank you for the response. Looks like I'll be at school around 7:45ish for my 9am class.
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Park in a far away lot near a shuttle stop, best luck is lot five behind the practice field, and take the shuttle. This is the second stop for that shuttle so you are more likely to get a spot on it. And be sure to get there at least forty-five minutes before your first class. Don't worry about missing the shuttle too, it comes around about every ten to fifteen minutes. Also, the later that your classes are, the less likely there will be a spot, especially on the first day of classes. Good luck!
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just park along route 43 and ride the school provided bus. all you need is a commuter pass. There are like 5 stops on 43 and always a spot to park.
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Can you explain this more. Is that the road, 43?
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https://utsa.edu/auxiliary/shuttle.html
there should be a link to 43 on that page. 43 is the name of the route it curves around the west side of campus. Not many students know or use this route, there is always parking. It picks up outside of the business building and runs every 10 mins. Im sure there is a map of the route somewhere with that link
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Its the bus stops for the shuttle. They run on the far west side if school. Its your best bet. Trust me. Unless you show up at 8am like everyone else says.
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Show up before 8am if you want any hope of parking in any of the lots really, after about 7:45 you'll probably get stuck in the far lots off Valero Parkway, or end up in the garage.
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[deleted]
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If it wasn't raining I always parked on the drag and walked to campus. It is only about 1/2 a mile and it beats getting to school early or spending 30 minutes looking for a parking spot.
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Shell was cool with this?
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It doesn't belong to shell, it is part of the neighborhood. I parked there for three years and was never towed.
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Park at LaCantera and walk. Parking is free so you do save $200/yr or whatever they're charging now.
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I had a coworker tell me about this tactic. My question which I wasn't able to ask was "did you ever get towed" what did you do to ensure you wouldn't get towed.
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While I don't park at LC, I imagine it would be pretty hard for security to tell who was and wasn't a mall customer as long as you didn't park a mile away from other cars. Even then, some stores require their employees to park far so customers can have close spots.
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Peoe work there for 12 hours a day so they shouldn't tow
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Cry
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It wasn't that bad
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Where'd you park
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I parked at La Cantera across the street and 1604 and simply walked to school. I thought it would take me 20 minutes to walk to campus but I did it in 10. I was in a bit of a rush this morning so I didnt do either the crossroads park and ride or the park and ride from under I-10 and 1604.
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unf, that sounds like a pain in the ass. just park in the west or east lots, and ride the shuttle, theres always empty spaces and you dont have to deal with as much traffic. well, thats if you have a commuter pass......
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I've been going here for four years (victory lap woo woo). Here are some tips from someone who has been burned by parking more times than I like to remember.
Lot 13 is your friend as long as you aren't trying to park there between 930 and 130. This is my go to parking lot. Shuttles run every 10 minutes during peak hours and its only a 5-10ish minute walk to the art building. During those peak hours? Forget about it, its almost as bad as the big main lot for people hawking parking spots.
Route 43 runs from the business building along the outer edge of campus with multiple parking lots. The route is longer than 13 but there are many more spots available. BE WARNED: if you miss your shuttle be prepared to wait a good while because it always seems that you show up right when the shuttle's timing is off.
Parking in the main lot (the one in front of the convocation and rec) are a crap shoot. I park there only if its super early or late in the day. Its just too big of a pain in the ass to search for parking.
I'm not even going to go over the lot in front of the BSE. Its so fucking tiny since they moved the faculty spots over there. If you can find a spot, go buy a lottery ticket
Parking Garages: I only park there if its my absolute last resort or I forgot my permit like a moron. While the proximity may seem nice, going through the hassle of paying and crap gets annoying. You have a perfectly good permit! use it!
Ramdon Tips:
utsa parking police will ticket you. They are like fucking psychics.
it was rare that I would show up 20 minutes before class to catch a shuttle, I always found parking and caught the shuttle. (lot 13, off peak hours of 10am-1pm. That being said you WILL get burned by the shuttle and be late if you do this often enough.
If you're rich, buy a garage permit and tell me about it. I've always wondered what was inside the mythical paid spot garage.
Every once in awhile the shuttle will be full and you'll have to either wait for the next one, or stand in the aisle. If you're a dude, give your seat up to a girl (if shes standing). Good karma can go a long way and when dealing with utsa parking, you'll need all the karma you can get.
As always, remember the UTSA motto: Come Here, Park Far.
I love you.
Seconding pretty much all of this. I usually come early so I can get to class on my own time and not worry too much about overcrowded buses. I hate having to stand up in the aisles and, maybe I'm too self-conscious here, but I also like being the first to choose a seat and not force myself on someone else (woo poor self esteem). But yeah, the latest I will usually show up is half an hour before my classes - and if it's peak hours, I try to come at least 45 minutes before. There is nothing quite so frustrating as having a bus drive right by you with the aisles filled then having to wait another 15 minutes or so for the next shuttle.
If you've got early classes - like first one or two in the day - then park at the lot in front of the soccer fields to get a good bus spot. After that, park at one of the two lots with facing bus stops so you can walk across and catch a bus heading back plus catch all of the newly opened spots from people exiting. Only park at the very back lot (by the child development center) if there no spots to be found in the other lots on 43's path - and then, it might be best to park back there then walk up to another stop, especially in peak hours (when those lots would be filled). This helps ensure that you get a spot on the shuttle.
Once you have a mended ankle, if the weather isn't too bad then you might want to walk from the lot in front of the soccer fields (if there are spaces). It's a nice enough walk, worth doing at least a few times - around the fields, past the rec center, through the UC area, etc etc.
Don't take food or opened drink containers that don't have a tight, no-drip seal (they'll ask you to toss it or leave it at the front if they have a holder - some don't).
Oh yeah, and it seems like you always have to wait ages to grab a bus back to your car after the 2:00-2:30ish classes get out. So many times I've watched them go off-line and pull around to take their breaks, all at the same time, as the crowd waiting grows. Be wary. Walk back or blow off some time printing some crap that you need, whatever.
Great tips, but what UTSA peeps seem to forget... Parking is bad at most universities. :-/
I just hate that "motto" in general, when people say it, it makes it seem like their the victim of this parking travesty that only affects UTSA... Bleh.