An inside look at living, studying and working at Cal Poly.

Inside Cal Poly

Bringing a vehicle to campus can be very convenient for a lot of reasons. Depending on your needs, however, there are many free and cost-effective ways to get here without a car, saving you time looking for parking, money paying for a permit and the helping Cal Poly reach its goal of reducing the number of single occupancy vehicle driving to campus.



To help you better plan your commute to campus, here are some parking tips going into the fall quarter.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Use transportation resources on campus. Whether you need information on ZIP Cars or how to buy a daily parking permit, Cal Poly&#8217;s <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/officehours" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) team</a> can help you get to your destination.</li>



<li>Consider hosting or joining a carpool. TAPS offers guaranteed carpool permits for faculty, staff and students. Find a carpool near you by using the <a href="https://irideshare.org/#/networks/5540f5ecd932b71f35efc151?join=9bf5ca" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cal Poly Student Network</a> or the <a href="https://irideshare.org/#/networks/5540f5ecd932b71f35efc149?join=52493c" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Cal Poly Employee Network</a>.</li>



<li><a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/vanpoolschedule" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Consider joining a vanpool</a> if you plan to commute in a group of five or more people.</li>



<li>Stay informed about <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/lot_closures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">parking lot closures</a>. Cal Poly is continuously working to improve campus facilities and infrastructure, which sometimes necessitates temporary or permanent changes to parking arrangements. For example, the H-4F parking lot between Perimeter and Truckee roads, adjacent to Fisher Science Hall, will be fully closed in mid-September as construction on the Student Success Center begins.</li>



<li>Take advantage of the great biking weather. There are <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/bikeparkingandstorage.php" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">over 7,000 bike rack spaces and 252 secure bike lockers</a> available on campus. With more than half of the student population living within a five-mile radius of campus, biking is an excellent alternative to navigating parking.</li>



<li>Avoid parking hassles altogether by using <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/bus_services" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">SLO&#8217;s reliable transit service</a>. Local bus service with stops on campus is free. Discounted monthly bus passes for the Regional Transit Authority are also available through TAPS. Get on the bus and rest your mind.</li>
</ul>



For parking updates, inquiries and more, visit the <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">TAPS website</a>.

A large parking lot with many parked cars, some empty spaces, trees, and a person walking with an orange backpack.

Parking Tips Going Into Fall

With many students and faculty away during the summer, Cal Poly will continue the hard work of pushing Learn by Doing forward with new and enhanced campus amenities, buildings, facilities and some significant capital projects.



Less foot traffic during the summer offers a perfect opportunity to perform impactful work and maintenance, such as student housing and the student success center. These projects, in support of the&nbsp;<a href="https://masterplan.calpoly.edu/docs/cal-poly-campus-master-plan-abridged.pdf">Cal Poly Master Plan</a>, are designed to enhance the quality of university life, support academic achievement and provide resourced facilities.



To help the Cal Poly community navigate campus this summer, we’ve compiled a list of construction projects and <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/lot_closures/">affected roads and parking lots</a>.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/vista-meadows/">Vista Meadows</a> The faculty and staff housing project located on the corner of Slack and Grand is actively under construction. The project will create 33 single-family homes for faculty and staff purchase. Summer construction impacts will include intermittent road impairments on Slack Street, allowing the underground and overhead utility installations and follow-on paving activities.&nbsp;Similar intermittent lane closures will occur at the Slack and Grand intersection, accommodating the utility tie-in locations. The Grand Avenue entrance will be resurfaced in the late summer resulting in lane closures. As the utility work is complete, the project will transition to foundations and framing activities for the new homes.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/football_operations/">John Madden Football Center</a> Construction on the Madden Football Center continues.&nbsp;As a reminder, this project forms a new and expanded football clubhouse/facility. The superstructure is nearing completion, with the project transitioning to mechanical and electrical infrastructure and interior finish activities later this fall. Construction impacts on the campus community will be similar to the current effects, with construction vehicles entering and exiting the site.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/water-reclamation/">Water Reclamation Facility (WRF)</a> The Water Reclamation Project provides sustainable solutions to the campus water infrastructure. The reclamation treatment plant will process the campus&#8217;s sewer water, allowing grey water to be utilized as an irrigation resource. The project is adjacent to the swine unit and will have little impact on everyday campus operations. Intermittent lane and California Boulevard road closures are scheduled for lift station upgrades and utility connections.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/water-infrastructure-improvement/">Water Infrastructure Improvement Project (WIIP)</a> The WIIP expands the campus&#8217;s domestic and fire water infrastructure in alignment with the campus master plan and growth of the Cal Poly campus. In broad terms, the project increases the capacity of water stored in holding tanks at the top of the hill with upgrades to the distribution system to campus buildings. The bulk of the summer work will focus on reconstructing the storage tanks and pump house adjacent to the tanks. Impact to campus includes intermittent noise and construction material delivery traffic.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/housing-program/">Cal Poly Student Housing Project (CPSHP)</a> The student housing project is the largest campus project and will continue in phases for multiple years. This project expands the current housing stock by 3100 to 3800 new residential beds with up to 8 new buildings. The project is located on the north mountain site behind the existing red brick residential halls. The first building of the program is actively under construction and includes site enabling work. The project consists of modular construction units beginning in September, with the first building’s modular units stacked by the end of 2025.&nbsp;Summer construction impacts include replacing the underground infrastructure and connections on Perimeter Road. Impacts also include the ongoing construction traffic to and from the site.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/kennedy-library/">Kennedy Library</a> Kennedy Library, scheduled to reopen Monday, Sept. 15, will be substantially completed by summer. Summer impacts will include move-in and transition to occupancy activities in mid-July.&nbsp;&nbsp;



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/plant-sciences/">Plant Science Complex</a>, <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/animal-health-science/">Animal Health Center</a> The Plant Science and Animal Health project combines two buildings, providing additional resources to educate CAFES-related fields. The project is located on Highland Drive near the railroad overpass. Construction traffic entering and leaving the site and intermittent noise are the only project impacts expected during the summer. The planned completion of the projects is winter 2026.



<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/student-success/">Student Success Center</a> The Student Success Center is a project in the planning stage that will construct new and expanded programs to improve student success and ongoing student enrollment growth. The new building will be located on the existing H-4F parking lot between Perimeter Road and Truckee, adjacent to Fisher Science Hall. Expect intermittent impacts beginning in summer to Perimeter, Village and Truckee roads accommodating utility enabling work for the site.



Parking Updates



The H-4F parking lot between Perimeter and Truckee roads, adjacent to Fisher Science Hall will be partially closed this summer for utility line work. The lot is scheduled to fully close in mid-September as construction on the Student Success Center starts.



The Grand Avenue Parking Structure is receiving an LED retrofit. This update will be an ongoing project throughout the 2025-26 academic year and will help make this major parking facility much more energy efficient.



The H-11 parking lot on Via Carta near Building 10 will come back online when the temporary study structure is removed in preparation for the opening of the Kennedy Library.



For up-to-date information visit Transportation and Parking Services <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/lot_closures/">Parking Lot Closure webpage</a>.



Cal Poly is also engaged with the City of SLO collaborating on <a href="https://www.slocity.org/government/department-directory/public-works/construction-and-traffic-updates">active projects in or around campus</a>, and with Cal Trans, aligning on <a href="https://roads.dot.ca.gov/?roadnumber=1">night closures construction work on Highway 1</a>.



For the latest on campus construction projects, visit the <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/facilities/planning-capital-projects/project-news/">Project News web page</a>.

Two people organizing mostly empty white bookshelves in a brightly lit library aisle with one fully stocked shelf.

Construction Projects to Look Out for This Summer

This summer, Cal Poly will embark on a 10-year program to expand and improve campus housing to enhance the residential student experience and promote student success.



The Future Housing Program will add 3,000-4,000 beds to campus housing and incorporate major renovations to University Housing’s six red brick residence halls in multiple construction phases to ease demand, accommodate growth and address aging facilities.



The CSU Housing Proposal Review Committee approved the Future Housing Program back in 2023. The full program concept will be submitted to the CSU for the Board of Trustees to consider at its July meeting.



Construction on new housing is scheduled to begin in fall 2024, with the first phase opening in fall 2026 and subsequent phases opening every year thereafter, with the final phase of construction being completed in 2030.



Significant parking lot and road closures are set to happen on Monday, June 17.



Lots R1, K1 and K2, located behind the North Mountain and Red Brick residence halls, will be permanently closed. Klamath Road — the backbone of the Future Housing Program infrastructure — Deer Road and Mountain Lane will also be closed, with limited access to authorized vehicles and essential services.



The <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Parking and Commuter Services webpage</a> reflects current information on all sustainable transportation options. The <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/lot_closures/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Parking Lot Closures webpage</a> includes closure information and alternate parking lots for summer and the next academic year.



To learn more about the university’s housing project goals, visit the <a href="https://housing.calpoly.edu/future-housing" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Future of Cal Poly Housing webpage</a>.

Site plan showing buildings labeled A to I, roads Truckee Rd, Klamath Rd, and S Perimeter Rd, plus green spaces and pathways.

Future Housing Program to Launch in Summer

As the CSU works toward a more sustainable future, Cal Poly is leading the way and providing yet another benefit for our students, staff, and faculty for making eco-friendly decisions.
Cal Poly community members get an exclusive discounted charging rate at on-campus ChargePoint stations.
With 37 electric vehicle (EV) charging spaces strategically located across campus, powering up has never been more convenient.
Our charging network includes spaces in lot H-2A, the Grand Ave Structure, and Structure 131. No matter where you are on campus, a charging option is readily available to keep you on the move. If all available spaces are occupied, the waitlist feature ensures you get your chance to charge. Simply tap your charge card on the desired station or get in line through your ChargePoint account. You&#8217;ll be notified when a station becomes available, giving you a specified time to accept the space and plug in seamlessly.
To make this initiative a success, we kindly remind our community to move their vehicles at the end of the charging session. It&#8217;s crucial to ensure that EV charging spaces are used actively for charging. Additionally, charging spaces are valid for a maximum of 4 hours and a valid Cal Poly parking permit or timed session is required.
Join us in this green journey, and let&#8217;s work together to promote alternative transportation programs on campus. The ChargePoint charging stations at Cal Poly promote progress, sustainability, and a brighter future for our community.

Electric vehicle charging station with a sign reading "4 hour limit, electric vehicles only, vehicle must be charging.

Powering Up Progress

Parking on any university campus can be a daunting task. However, there&#8217;s good news for students, faculty, staff and visitors who want more payment options for parking on campus.
Transportation and Parking Services is committed to making parking as smooth as possible, and to that end, they recently introduced PayByPhone as a new payment option for all metered parking on campus.
With this addition, there are now two convenient mobile parking apps, PayByPhone and ParkMobile, accepted for both metered, daily (H-1 and K-1 lots) and visitor parking (Structure 131) at Cal Poly.
Both apps provide a great cashless payment option as well as mobile alerts that notify users before their parking session is due to expire. With just a few taps on a phone, users can easily pay to park up to the parking zone’s maximum time limit.
What makes this addition even more convenient is that PayByPhone is widely used across the country, including the city of San Luis Obispo.
Both apps have a small $0.35 convenience fee, and are available for download on the App Store, Google Play, and the Windows Store. PayByPhone is also available for Apple Watch.

PayByPhone app interface showing parking timer and location at Cal Poly with text "Park with PayByPhone at Cal Poly".

PayByPhone Joins ParkMobile: Two Great Options for Cal Poly Parking

Cal Poly’s Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) does way more than direct traffic and give out parking tickets. Here are 10 interesting facts about a department you thought was not very interesting.



<ol class="wp-block-list">
<li>All the money generated from parking citations goes to creating, maintaining and promoting sustainability programs like rideshare and commuting, not paychecks.</li>



<li>TAPS is a self-sustaining department meaning that it receives no state, or university funding. They pay their employee salaries with parking permit sales.</li>



<li>TAPS is continuously expanding services and promoting more sustainable transportation options and creating affordable opportunities for students, faculty and staff to commute to and from campus.</li>



<li>Bike commuting is easy thanks to TAPS and the more than 7,000 bike rack spaces and 252 secure bike lockers available.</li>



<li>TAPS subsidizes vanpool groups that are open to faculty, staff and students. <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/carpooling.php">Carpool permits</a> are available for faculty, staff and students and offer designated premium parking spots in lots throughout campus.</li>



<li>Rides on SLO Transit buses have been free with a Cal Poly ID for nearly four decades thanks to TAPS.</li>



<li>TAPS introduced the <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/safetyprograms/#mustang-shuttle">Mustang Shuttle</a> program last winter. This free shuttle service now runs during the day five days a week and in the evening, until 12:30 a.m. seven days a week.</li>



<li>Nine new charging ports were installed this winter in Structure 131. Now there are 21 charging stations available on campus for students, faculty, staff and visitors.</li>



<li>Have you heard of Mustang Patrol, the folks who are available to walk with you across campus late at night? Yeah, that’s a TAPS program.</li>



<li>All of this work has helped get Cal Poly recognized as a Best Workplace for Commuters many times, as well as named a Bicycle Friendly University by the League of American Bicyclists and o</li>
</ol>

Man in green Cal Poly shirt and black cap stands in front of a row of white parked cars outdoors.

10 Things You Didn’t Know About Transportation and Parking Services

It&#8217;s official, back to school season is upon us. While you may be prepping your first day outfit, getting your supplies in order or thinking about which mask to bring, don’t forget to take some time to consider your campus commute. It’s important that when traveling to campus you are doing so in a way that is sustainable and efficient. Hence, this academic year Transportation and Parking Services wants you to commute with confidence! See below for how you can do so.



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Share parking with confidence. Got roommates? Great! Introducing the new student carpool permits. Students interested in starting a carpool group for winter, and skip the parking permit lottery, need to review the guidelines <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/carpooling.php#carpool1">here</a>.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Bike with confidence. Biking is one of the best ways to commute to campus if you live within a reasonable distance. Fun fact: 57% of students and 33% of faculty and staff live within five miles of Cal Poly’s campus, so get your helmet and get to campus!</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Ride SLO Transit with confidence. One of the many perks of being a Cal Poly community member is that you can ride the SLO transit bus for free when you present your ID. Now trips to and from campus from throughout the county on Regional Transit Authority (RTA) buses are also free. These busses serve all of SLO County and extend down into Santa Barbara County. All campus community members who are interested must sign up with TAPS. For more information visit <a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/bus_services">afd.calpoly.edu/parking/commutingtocampus/bus_services</a>​</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Be car-free with confidence. No car, no problem! That’s what Zipcars are for. There are many Zipcars located all over campus to rent for just an hour or even a whole day.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Rideshare with confidence. Thanks to our partners at Rideshare, faculty and staff who are registered and actively recording their smart commutes qualify for an emergency ride home, allowing ridesharers to get home quickly in case of personal or family illness and emergencies.</li>
</ul>



<ul class="wp-block-list">
<li>Keep charged up with confidence. Cal Poly has electric vehicle charging stations located in the Grand Avenue Structure and in the H-2a parking lot to keep your vehicle charged and ready to go.</li>
</ul>



Being mindful of your commute is a great way to start of the academic year on the right foot. As you return to campus the university hopes that you will do so with confidence!

Green car illustration with text "COMMUTE with confidence." on a light blue background.

Commute With Confidence!

Back in 2016 Cal Poly adopted ParkMobile, an app that allows customers to find and purchase parking straight from their mobile devices. Since then, Cal Poly has expanded on this app to provide more contactless parking payment options.



The most recent update could not have come at a better time. According to Marlene Cramer, the director of Transportation and Parking Services, with ParkMobile now in use Cal Poly has started to remove some parking meters on campus. This results in less resources used towards the meter maintenance and the collection process which allows for Transportation and Parking Services to reassign employees to do other important tasks.



Not&nbsp;only is this new system labor efficient, it’s also more sustainable! TAPS’ vision is to create a campus with cohesive, innovative and sustainable transportation and parking services.ParkMobile is a tool in making this vision a reality. In addition to the ParkMobile system, in Fall of 2019 virtual parking passes were implemented on campus. This system reduced and virtually eliminated the need for paper and plastic parking permits.​



The app also makes it easier for customers to utilize the most updated features within the app without the campus needing to purchase new hardware which is the case for credit card meters. For example, this year people are coming to campus for shorter periods of time as a result of COVID-19 safety precautions. TAPS staff noticed a change in demand and availability, and simply added a day pass options to give students additional choices for purchasing parking on campus.



In the past Cal Poly has used ParkMobile for advance event parking reservations for large campus events such as Green and Gold tours, Open House, SLO Days, the annual Rodeo, and large athletic events. When events are safe to return to campus, TAPS plans to reactive this feature of the ParkMobile app.



Lastly, ParkMobile has allowed for a more secure way for customers to purchase parking. Having a virtual receipt has created higher levels of compliance and less frustration for customers as they always have a copy of their parking pass. Their license plate is their permit and the app provides a record of receipts for customer convenience.



It is clear that this system is adaptable, efficient and sustainable. Next time you find yourself on campus make sure you download the ParkMobile app and check out all the new features!

Hand holding phone displaying Cal Poly University parking app with zone 4092 and 11 hours 22 mins max parking.

Parking Smarter, Not Harder

Gone are the days of hanging parking permits from the rearview. This summer, Cal Poly Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS) is rolling out license plate recognition software that will help them better manage traffic flow and patterns throughout campus parking lots.



Using vehicles affixed with cameras specifically designed to read license plates, parking ambassadors will be able to more efficiently track parking capacity and availability.



With this information, TAPS can analyze lot occupancy per week, day and hour. Then, once they are able to determine the number of permits to offer, they can maximize existing parking facilities.



TAPS Director Marlene Cramer said this new platform will create a better parking experience for students, faculty, staff and visitors by providing real-time and long-term data that will help TAPS stay on top of trending models.



“Cal Poly is growing, offering more housing, reducing the number of students driving to campus and therefore reducing our environmental footprint, which is a big goal for the university,” Cramer said. “Yet we still have a lot of people driving to campus and needing parking. This new system will allow us to better manage the lots and improve the customer experience immensely.”



However, just because permits need not be on display in the rearview, anyone with a parking permit must ensure that their vehicle is registered with TAPS.



Registering is as simple as&nbsp;<a href="https://afd.calpoly.edu/parking/">logging into your parking account via the TAPS webpage</a>&nbsp;and adding a vehicle to your profile.



Staff will still be able to purchase short-term permits online and visitor parking permits will still be available at the Public Safety Reception Center, Visitor Center and pay stations. Visitors must know their license plate number when purchasing parking.

White security vehicle with rooftop cameras and a flashing amber light, driver visible inside.

Tag: Parking