Indiana University Bloomington - Navigation, Beating the Parking System
Created | Updated Oct 24, 2005
In fiscal year 2003/2004, Indiana University Bloomington (which hires real police to ticket vehicles) made more revenue from parking fines than the city of Indianapolis. A single university parking fee is $40 and parking police will notoriously mark a single car two or three times within one day over a single incident. This guide entry concerns avoiding costly tickets like a pro while visiting IU Bloomington, as well as navigating the campus area like a local, in a fuel-and-time-conscious manner.
Here, "Beating the Parking System" means parking on or near campus having never visited IU before, and successfully avoiding the tickets that the university and city liberally scribe and plunk down on your windshield in two's and three's, quickly adding up to indecent sums.
IU Bloomington has a complicated system of C (commuter) permits, regionally zoned D permits (for dorm residents), A permits (which are auctioned off at prices), and various R permits for VIPs and utility workers.
Forget all that. You've never been to Bloomington before and now you want to visit a friend there. You don't have a permit (why would you?) and therefore you are not welcome. There is nowhere to park in this automobile-overcrowded oasis of state-funded learning, where tens of thousand car owning residents cram into about twenty city blocks. This is the system you have to beat, and this text will guide you through it.
First - if you are going to be ticketed, a city ticket (off campus) is infinitely preferable, and near to half to cost of a university ticket.
Knowing campus is simple. Remember your cardinal directions - 3rd street is always south of you and 10th street disects campus. This can orient you and nothing helps better when learning a foreign place.
The two common routes into Bloomington are north from Indianapolis via 47 and east from highway 46. Where 46 bypasses north in the center of Bloomington to intersect 47 marks the eastern border of the Indiana University Campus. Where 46 continues straight west through town (as 3rd street) marks the southern border of campus. This bypass is the location of College mall.
Park at College mall ten blocks away and catch a bus. A car may be left here for days on end and not be ticketed. This is quite often the best method of transport while in Bloomington. The C bus route is commonly your best option if you don't know campus very well - be prepared to drop a few quarters for a stress-free jaunt through a beautiful limestone college atmosphere.
Another option is to park at the church or elementary school just southeast of campus along 3rd street. There are two churches here. The southernmost (on 2nd and High Street) offers the best, most secluded lot.
The west side of Bloomington should be avoided. If you must, my favorite parking space is behind Soma on Kirkwood, which is two blocks west past campus and two blocks to the right, coming down 3rd street. There are no trustworthy daytime parking spaces that do not fine within many city blocks of this location, which is two blocks west of campus (the Sample Gates).
Just don't exit your vehicle, allowing you to park wherever you want.
Tickets can usually be avoided by parking on the Northeast end of campus near the BELL TOWER, where the bypass intersects 17th street east of the stadium. This is the area to the immediate east of the fraternities, which lie along North Jordan Avenue. Though you will certainly be ticketed if you park along the street, the parking lot by Evermann and Redbud, as well as the utility vehicle lot at the foot of the Bell Tower are rarely if ever patrolled. Residents of Redbud can leave their vehicles at the end of Redbud public driveway for hours without concern. The rest of campus often forgets that apartment housing exists, especially back against the water tower, and you will be very safe up there.
The only reliable meter parking can be found in front of the Main Library. The best lots which will charge a fee are the parking lot of the IMU (Indiana University Memorial Union) and in the parking garage behind the the business school.
If you are in a hurry and find yourself driving on campus, don't be overly daunted. Take the side roads that run north by south. Avoid 10th street, Jordan avenue, and the bypass and you will halve your travel time to any destination. No parking lot at IU has only one way in or out unless you are nearby the railroad. Therefore you can cut through most any parking lot to find a shortcut. Keeping these tips in mind, one will discover that turning left across traffic in Bloomington is never, ever necessary.
Here, "Beating the Parking System" means parking on or near campus having never visited IU before, and successfully avoiding the tickets that the university and city liberally scribe and plunk down on your windshield in two's and three's, quickly adding up to indecent sums.
IU Bloomington has a complicated system of C (commuter) permits, regionally zoned D permits (for dorm residents), A permits (which are auctioned off at prices), and various R permits for VIPs and utility workers.
Forget all that. You've never been to Bloomington before and now you want to visit a friend there. You don't have a permit (why would you?) and therefore you are not welcome. There is nowhere to park in this automobile-overcrowded oasis of state-funded learning, where tens of thousand car owning residents cram into about twenty city blocks. This is the system you have to beat, and this text will guide you through it.
First - if you are going to be ticketed, a city ticket (off campus) is infinitely preferable, and near to half to cost of a university ticket.
Knowing campus is simple. Remember your cardinal directions - 3rd street is always south of you and 10th street disects campus. This can orient you and nothing helps better when learning a foreign place.
The two common routes into Bloomington are north from Indianapolis via 47 and east from highway 46. Where 46 bypasses north in the center of Bloomington to intersect 47 marks the eastern border of the Indiana University Campus. Where 46 continues straight west through town (as 3rd street) marks the southern border of campus. This bypass is the location of College mall.
Park at College mall ten blocks away and catch a bus. A car may be left here for days on end and not be ticketed. This is quite often the best method of transport while in Bloomington. The C bus route is commonly your best option if you don't know campus very well - be prepared to drop a few quarters for a stress-free jaunt through a beautiful limestone college atmosphere.
Another option is to park at the church or elementary school just southeast of campus along 3rd street. There are two churches here. The southernmost (on 2nd and High Street) offers the best, most secluded lot.
The west side of Bloomington should be avoided. If you must, my favorite parking space is behind Soma on Kirkwood, which is two blocks west past campus and two blocks to the right, coming down 3rd street. There are no trustworthy daytime parking spaces that do not fine within many city blocks of this location, which is two blocks west of campus (the Sample Gates).
Just don't exit your vehicle, allowing you to park wherever you want.
Tickets can usually be avoided by parking on the Northeast end of campus near the BELL TOWER, where the bypass intersects 17th street east of the stadium. This is the area to the immediate east of the fraternities, which lie along North Jordan Avenue. Though you will certainly be ticketed if you park along the street, the parking lot by Evermann and Redbud, as well as the utility vehicle lot at the foot of the Bell Tower are rarely if ever patrolled. Residents of Redbud can leave their vehicles at the end of Redbud public driveway for hours without concern. The rest of campus often forgets that apartment housing exists, especially back against the water tower, and you will be very safe up there.
The only reliable meter parking can be found in front of the Main Library. The best lots which will charge a fee are the parking lot of the IMU (Indiana University Memorial Union) and in the parking garage behind the the business school.
If you are in a hurry and find yourself driving on campus, don't be overly daunted. Take the side roads that run north by south. Avoid 10th street, Jordan avenue, and the bypass and you will halve your travel time to any destination. No parking lot at IU has only one way in or out unless you are nearby the railroad. Therefore you can cut through most any parking lot to find a shortcut. Keeping these tips in mind, one will discover that turning left across traffic in Bloomington is never, ever necessary.
