Campus Parking Tips

It’s your first day at MTSU! You wake up early, put on something trendy or comfortable and make your way up to campus, eager to see what this semester’s classes will bring to your academic growth. As you start making your way down the 15 miles per hour roads, cautiously flowing in and out of roundabout traffic circles, you find a parking lot with signs that match the color of your parking permit. Aren’t you glad you picked up your parking permit from the Parking and Transportation Services last week? You enter the lot, only to realize there are no more spots. So where is the next parking lot? Will you drive all the way over there just for it to be unbelievably full, as well? You glance at the clock in your dashboard and are horrified to see that your hour early arrival to campus has now resorted to 15 minutes until class starts. Where did you go wrong, you might ask yourself. There are several places you can park when you arrive on campus, all of which will be effected by your time of arrival, class location and willingness to walk.

Here are a few places you can park and the most reasonable times to get there.

Arriving early

If you’re an early bird, like I am most of the time, then parking will be a whole lot easier. Arriving between 7:00 AM and 9:00 AM will give you a better chance of getting one of those ideal parking sport right in the heart of campus. The first few weeks of school is the most challenging, even when you arrive early, but there’s a better chance you’ll get right in to a spot and head to class early enough to get your favorite seat. Like many students, my first classes usually don’t start until 9 or even 10:20 AM, so I find myself on campus extremely early just to get a good spot. One way to utilize this spare time is to do some needed classwork or required reading. The library opens at 7:00 AM most mornings and is a great place to hang out until your class starts. Some of my favorite early morning lots include Ezell Lot, Rec Lot, and Green House Lot. All of these lots are central to most classes in the heart of campus. Have a class close to the library or Student Union? These lots might be your closest options.

Arriving a little later/not needing to be in the heart of campus

Other closely located lots include the Softball Lot, MTSU lot, Livestock Lot, Greenland Lot, and Bell Street Lot. These lots are on the outer areas of campus but they have a tendency to fill up just as fast as previously mentioned lots. If you have classes in Peck Hall, the Alumni Memorial Gym or you need to hit the Recreation Area, then these lots may better suit you. Parking in the outer laying campus lots might be a longer walk, but if you’re not really needing to be in the heart of campus it saves you the drive and potential traffic. There are other smaller lots located around the outside of campus closer to student housing, such as Rutherford Lot, Highland Lot, MEC Lot, Rose Lot, Ingram Lot, Parking Services Lot and College Heights Lot. These lots are farther, but when you absolutely need to get to class, parking here and making the 15-20 minute walk can save your from driving around and hoping someone leaves soon.

Evening classes/after hours parking

If you have evening classes or need to return to campus for a lecture or event, you can park in most lots after 5:30 PM, Monday through Friday and on weekends. After 6:30 PM students can park in Old Main Circle (on street parking), Faulkinberry Dr. (on street parking), Davis Science Lot, Honors Lot, and Founders Lot. White and Green permit parking areas are open for any permitted vehicles. Yellow curbs, no parking zones, disabled, and reserved spaces are in effect at all times.