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For many Georgia State University students, finding a place to park is as difficult as finding a place to live.
With many off-campus communities having fewer parking spaces available than apartments for rent, even residents who are able to live close to campus often have to find a place to park other than their apartment complex. The search isn’t helped by the fact that Georgia State University’s campus in downtown Atlanta means students are often competing for parking availability with office workers, hotel guests, and other downtown residents. To help future residents navigate the parking options available, here’s a rundown on parking options around Georgia State University.
Georgia State University is unique in that GSU students register their license plate as their on-campus permit. Students don’t need a separate tag on their car. Instead, you must register your license plate numbers with the Office of Parking & Transportation to park on-campus.
Georgia State University students have three different permit options for their on-campus vehicle:
A full-year student parking permit is available at no cost, but students must pay an additional one-time use or semester fee depending on the parking lot being used. Semester parking permits can only be used at specific parking decks, which also come at an additional cost. The budget card can only be used at GSU-owned parking facilities at the Atlanta campus, and there are further restrictions on when the permit can be used, with additional costs depending on the time parked.
Once your license plate is registered and your permit option is selected, Georgia State University students have the option of selecting a semester option for a specific on-campus lot or garage. With several parking options, the costs can vary widely, so it’s best to find a parking garage close to where you live or have classes to streamline the options.
Parking costs can vary widely, so it’s best to find a parking garage close to where you live or have classes to streamline the options.
For those looking for 24-hour parking, the only garage that offers overnight parking is the University Lofts garage located at 135 Edgewood Avenue. This garage is primarily used for residents of the Lofts, Greek Housing, and Freshmen Hall, but additional passes are available for non-residents. A pass to this garage costs $400 per semester and is only available to vehicles registered with the Office of Parking & Transportation.
Students who do not need overnight parking have additional options available at a lower monthly cost. Daily parking is available in the M Deck garage at 33 Auditorium Place for $215 per semester and a limited number of non-resident daily parking spaces are available at the University Lofts garage, also for $215 for the semester.
All other GSU-affiliated parking lots and garages charge a per-entry fee, which can range from $2 to $10 per entry, depending on the time of day and type of permit.
Students at the Atlanta campus of Georgia State University have 10 different parking options available, all within a 9-block radius on-campus. Furthest north, located at 175 Piedmont Avenue, is the Piedmont North parking lot. This is primarily for residents living on-campus at University Commons or Piedmont North and may not be available for non-residents, pending availability.
Most of the daily parking options are located in the heart of campus and are intended to be used only when visiting campus for class, studying, or meetings. These include the G Deck, K Deck, M Deck, N Deck, and S Deck, all of which are parking structures that can accommodate lots of cars, but have varying accessibility options for students needing a handicap accessible parking option.
The T Deck, located at 43 Auburn Avenue, is a bit further northwest from most of the academic buildings so plan for a walk depending on your final destination. The U Lot is only for mopeds and cannot be used by students to park a car.
For students who do not want to navigate the parking lots in and around campus, the easiest option is to park and ride from the Georgia State Stadium outdoor parking lot. Best of all, parking in the Blue Lot at the stadium is FREE during the day and is the only free daily option for on-campus parking at Georgia State University.
The Panther Express runs daily from 7 am to 11:50 pm (excluding special events) and serves all of the Atlanta campuses.
Daily parking at the stadium Blue Lot is available from 7am to Midnight whenever classes are in session and students can ride the Panther Express bus to get to campus from the stadium. The Panther Express runs daily from 7am to 11:50pm (excluding special events) and serves all of the Atlanta campus.
You’ll have to plan ahead to ensure you have time to park and ride the bus to your final destination on campus, but for many students this is an easier – and more affordable option – than driving around trying to find parking in one of the garages closer to campus.
Bicycling around campus is becoming an increasingly popular option for students who live near campus but want to avoid the time and cost of finding a parking space for their car. Plus, being in a dense area like downtown Atlanta makes it easy for bikers to get to other areas of town without needing to worry about parking outside of GSU.
The Office of Parking and Transportation still asks students to register their bike with the university. This is to help with lost or stolen bicycles on the GSU campus, but also helps the university gauge how many of its students are opting for cycling over driving. Georgia State University offers a bike rental program called Touch the Earth for students looking to try-out cycling around campus, plus the City of Atlanta’s bikeshare program, HOPR, has a student pass available for $10 per month.
Residents of The Mix, Georgia State University’s premier off-campus highrise community, have a private parking garage directly accessible from the building with a limit number of spaces available each year. If private resident parking wasn’t good enough, the community is located adjacent to a Racetrac gas station for quick and easy fill-ups on your way to or home from The Mix. For information about apartment and parking availability for the upcoming lease term, call out at onsite team at (470) 947-7894.
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