Cal Poly Transportation & Parking Services is now offering Spring Gap parking permits for on-campus residents, including freshmen. These passes will be valid for the last three weeks of Spring Quarter.
Village Drive Structure (R3) and Structure 131 will be open to students from Monday, May 27 through Friday, June 14 to help create a smoother move-out process, according to University Spokesperson Matt Lazier.
Although freshmen are prohibited from purchasing long-term parking passes, all residents will be allowed to buy the $105 three-week permit. Not everyone will be guaranteed one.
The lottery system allows students to add their name to each parking lot of interest and then prioritize location preferences. On-campus residents can sign up to be entered in the lottery now until May 19 on their Parking Account and students will begin being notified if they are awarded a pass May 20.
Interested students must rely on the luck of the draw and hope they are selected by lottery to purchase a permit. The lottery system was instituted to create equal opportunity among all students seeking to buy a Spring Gap pass, according to the Parking Services website.
According to Lazier, the lottery system was also implemented because there is more demand for the Spring Gap permit than parking spaces available.
Animal science freshman Sofia McAndrews applied for the Spring Gap permit because she has an off-campus job.
“It makes sense to have a car easily accessible to go to work,” McAndrews said.
McAndrews, like many freshmen, has been parking her car on the streets surrounding Cal Poly because she was not allowed to purchase a parking permit.
“Walking to and from my car and finding parking spots is difficult. I hope to get the lot by yakʔitʸutʸu as it is closest to my dorm,” McAndrews said.
Biological sciences senior Renee Millinger, an assistant at the Visitor Information and Parking Services Center, said this is the second time the university has offered these passes and that the university had a high volume of interest last year.
Millinger said she believes the university plans to continue to offer these passes due to their success.
As of Monday, there are 460 people on the waitlist for about 400 permits available for purchase, according to Lazier. Since there are still six more days for students to put their name on the waitlist, the number of interested students is likely to grow.