July 22, 2014

WSU main campus to become a permit-only parking environment

WSU News Services

 The following story has been updated to reflect revisions in the 2014-15 parking plan.

Beginning Monday, Aug. 11, Wichita State University’s main campus will become a permit-only parking environment. WSU students, faculty and staff must purchase and display a color-coded parking permit to legally park on the main campus. Visitors to campus will park in reserved visitor spaces.

The goal of the move to a permit environment is to ensure that more parking is available for commuter students on the main campus. 

Permits will be required from 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday. With the exception of reserved red-permit parking lots, permits are not required to park on campus after 6 p.m. or on weekends and days when classes are not in session. Vehicles parked on campus during enforcement hours without a proper permit will be ticketed by the Wichita State University Police Department.

Students, faculty and staff who decline to pay for parking permits may choose to ride the free WSU Shuttle System buses from satellite lots at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at 29th Street and Oliver or, potentially, from a new WSU-leased parking lot at 21st Street and Oliver (pending final agreement).

Permit types

There are six permit types for WSU faculty, staff and students at Wichita State.

  • Green Permit (WSU student commuter): WSU students not living in student housing may park in any green lot or in green/yellow shared lots.

  • Orange Permit (Shocker Hall residents): WSU students living in Shocker Hall must park in their assigned orange lot at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at 29th and Oliver. Orange permit holders are not allowed to park in any parking lots on the main campus or in the brown permit lot at Fairmount Towers during times when permits are being enforced.

  • Brown Permit (Fairmount Towers residents): WSU students living in Fairmount Towers must park in their assigned brown lot adjacent to Fairmount Towers. Brown-permitted vehicles are not allowed to park in any parking lots on the main campus during times when permits are being enforced.

  • Yellow Permit (WSU faculty and staff): Faculty and staff at WSU may park in yellow lots or in green/yellow shared lots. Yellow-permitted vehicles may not park in green-only lots. Doing so will result in a ticket from the WSU Police Department.

  • Red Permit (Reserved parking): Red-permitted vehicles are assigned a reserved space for the entire year. Red permit lots are reserved at all times, including weekends.

  • Purple Permit (Motorcycle parking): Students, faculty or staff who drive motorcycles may purchase purple permits to allow parking in the designated cycle zones in lots across campus.

Handicapped parking

There is no WSU-issued permit for handicapped parking. Vehicles displaying a valid state-issued handicapped indicator may park in the designated handicapped spaces in lots across campus. This includes handicapped spaces within the Red Permit parking lot between Morrison and Jabara Halls (Lot 8).

Visitor parking

Visitors to the WSU main campus may park in designated metered visitor parking areas around campus or ride the free WSU Shuttle System from satellite lots at the Hughes Metropolitan Complex at 29th and Oliver or, potentially, from a WSU-leased parking lot at 21st Street and Oliver (pending final agreement). In paid areas, visitors will eventually pay for parking through parking meters and self-serve kiosks, depending on the location. Metering devices will be installed on campus later this year.

In addition to metered spaces and satellite lots, a limited number of free spaces will be reserved for visitors in the following locations:

  • Visitors to the Marcus Welcome Center and Woodman Alumni Center may park free in designated visitor spaces in Lot 21E.

  • During clinic hours, patients of the WSU Dental Hygiene Clinic may park free in designated visitor spaces on the south edge of Lot 6, east of Ahlberg Hall.

  • Patients of the WSU Dental Clinic may park free in the Advanced Education in General Dentistry Building lot.

  • Patients of the Cassat Speech-Language-Hearing Clinic may park free in designated visitor spaces on the west side of the Hughes Metropolitan Complex.

  • Visitors to the Ulrich Museum may park free in designated visitor spaces on the north end of Fairmount Street entrance.

VIP visitors and lot reservations

WSU faculty and staff may request single-day permits for a limited number of VIP visitors (guest speakers, advisory council members, etc.). These permits will allow guests to park in yellow, green or yellow/green permit lots. Contact the WSU Police Department for more information.

Lot reservations for special events will only be permitted in lots on the periphery of campus (yellow/green striped lots on the parking map). Permission must be arranged through the WSU Police Department.

Safety at satellite parking lots

Student safety is of utmost importance at Wichita State. For this reason, the satellite lots at the Metropolitan Complex and, potentially, at 21st and Oliver (pending final agreement) are well-lit and will be regularly patrolled by WSU Police Department personnel 24 hours a day.

In addition, The Shocker Hall lot at the Metropolitan Complex will be attended by a Safety and Security Officer from 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. to protect both students and their vehicles.

An after-hours shuttle service will be provided on demand to transport WSU students, faculty and staff between Shocker Hall and the Metropolitan Complex during the 10 p.m. to 7 a.m. time period.

Additional information

For news, maps and other information about parking at Wichita State University, visit www.wichita.edu/parking. You may also follow parking news on Twitter (twitter.com/ShockerParking) and Facebook (facebook.com/wsuparking).