Freshmen Guide to Parking at UNF

Nathan Turoff, Features Editor

To an incoming Freshman, driving and parking on campus here at UNF can seem overwhelming. What is a gray lot? What is a blue lot? Do I need to place a permit hanging in my car? Spinnaker is here to help answer these questions and help you avoid getting ticketed.

Entrance to Blue lot 2, photo by Justin Nedrow

Blue Permits:

These are the best permits students can get. Students with these permits can park in places including but not limited to either of the parking garages, or the lots adjacent to the Field House and Wellness Center. Any parking lot marked with a sign saying “Blue Lot” similar to the sign above, you can park there. Students with these permits can also park in any of the gray lots as well, which will be explained later in this list. Unfortunately, if you haven’t already gotten one of these permits, you are out of luck, as they are already sold out. For obvious reasons, these permits sell out very quickly, so keep that in mind for future semesters.

 Entrance to Gray Lot 14, photo by Justin Nedrow

Gray Permits:

This permit allows students to park in Gray lots. Gray lots include the large lot behind the athletics fields, the lot across the street from Osprey Flats, and the lot that is connected to the ampitheatre via walkway. Any lot with a sign saying “Gray Lot” like the one above is free game. Students with Gray Permits are NOT allowed to park in blue lots, unfortunately. There are variations to this permit offered to students depending on their dorm, if they live on campus. These variations are explained in the table below

 Screenshot from Parkings website explaining different permits

Students living in the above dorms can also park in the additional lots in parentheses, which are the ones closest and adjacent to their respective lots.

There are other types of lots and parking spaces like time-limited unloading spots, faculty/staff parking, and emergency vehicle parking, just to name a few, but these are pretty self explanatory. There are a few other things to note when parking on campus.

All parking must be done “nose-in”. This is because there is actually no physical tag or decal to put on your vehicle for the permit. When you apply for a permit, you enter your vehicle’s physical description and license plate number. This information is entered into a database, letting parking services know that your vehicle is registered and you have a permit. Parking nose-in ensures that the license plate is visible for parking services to see. 

Parking Services enforce these rules and regulations 24/7, so having a permit of some kind is a must-have, and knowing where to park is key to ensuring you don’t get ticketed. 

UNF Parking’s official rules and regulations can be found here.

If you are unfortunate to get ticketed, you can appeal the decision. If you wish to appeal the decision, or you want to purchase a permit, go here.

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