ADA Parking Procedures - University Park

Effective 4/10/2025

The purpose of this policy is to ensure that ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act)-accessible parking is properly allocated for faculty, staff, students, and visitors.

This policy applies only to parking at University Park.

Note: For faculty and staff, a “Core lot” or “Core permit” refers to all faculty/staff parking areas except those designated as Commuter parking.

GENERAL REQUIREMENTS

  • All campus parking areas are reserved 24 hours a day, seven days a week and require a valid Penn State parking permit or payment of the applicable parking fee, where available.
  • No parking is permitted from 2 – 4 a.m. at the Commuter lots (Stadium West, Jordan East, Porter North, Porter South, and all other Commuter lots).
  • Faculty/staff permits are not valid in student parking lots at any time.
  • ADA parking spaces also require a valid state-issued ADA parking placard or license plate.

ADA PARKING WITH A PENN STATE PERMIT

All individuals assigned to a Penn State University Park parking permit must register their ADA parking placard or license plate with Transportation Services.

Registration Process

  • Existing ADA Parking Placard or License Plate:
    • Permit holders must email a copy of their ADA parking ID card to [email protected].
    • Those registered for a Core faculty/staff parking permit, or resident or long-term storage student parking permit, will be granted all-day parking access to all faculty/staff parking areas, except 2 – 4 a.m. overnight parking at the Commuter lots.
    • Transportation Services will email the permit holder to confirm their campus ADA parking access.
    • Faculty/Staff Permit Holders:
      • If needed, Transportation Services will contact the employee’s department parking chairperson to request the employee be switched to a Core permit for the parking area closest to their primary work location.
      • Standard permit fees will apply.
      • The permit reassignment process may require another employee in the department’s allocation to also be reassigned to a different permit to accommodate the ADA parking need.
    • Student Permit Holders:
      • If needed, Transportation Services will return their current permit for a prorated refund and authorize the student to purchase a permit for the closest resident student parking area near their residence hall (students living on campus) or a supplemental permit for access to Core faculty/staff lots (students commuting from off campus).
      • Standard permit fees will apply. The cost of the supplemental permit is the price difference between a student Commuter and faculty/staff Core permit.
      • The permit reassignment process may require another student to be reassigned to a different permit to accommodate the ADA parking need.
  • Submitted ADA Parking Application to State Pending Approval:
    • Permit holders must submit a physician-signed copy of their home state’s ADA parking application to the appropriate state office and email a copy to [email protected].
    • While awaiting the issuance of an ADA parking placard or license plate from the permit holder’s home state, Transportation Services will authorize the permit holder to purchase a temporary Multi-Access permit for access to regular, non-reserved spaces within all faculty/staff parking areas with more than 30 spaces.
    • Standard permit fees will apply. A fee will apply if the permit holder’s current permit costs less than a Core faculty/staff permit, in which case the cost will be the price difference between those permits.
  • Once the permit holder receives the ADA parking placard or license plate from their home state, they must follow the directions outlined above in the “Existing ADA Parking Placard or License Plate” section.

Multi-Access Parking Map

Parking Access – University Park Permits with ADA

  • Core Faculty/Staff Permit (all except Commuter) with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • All-day access to ADA and regular non-reserved spaces at all faculty/staff parking areas.
  • Commuter Faculty/Staff Permit with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • All-day access to ADA and regular non-reserved spaces at all Commuter parking areas.
    • Evening/weekend access to ADA and regular non-reserved spaces at all faculty/staff parking areas.
    • Note: If all-day access to Core lots is required, the employee will be switched to a Core permit for the parking area closest to their primary work location. See the “Registration Process” section above for details.
  • Core Resident Student Permit with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • A reserved space will be provided close to the primary door used for accessing their on-campus residence hall.
    • All-day access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces within the assigned student area and all faculty/staff parking areas.
  • Long-Term Storage Student Permit with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • All-day access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces within the assigned student area and all faculty/staff parking areas.
    • If needed, Transportation Services will return the student’s current permit for a prorated refund and authorize the student to purchase a permit for the closest resident student parking area near their residence hall and assign a reserved space for that lot. See the “Registration Process” section above for details.
  • Commuter Student Permit with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • All-day access to ADA and regular non-reserved spaces at all Commuter parking areas.
    • Evening/weekend access to ADA and regular non-reserved spaces at all faculty/staff parking areas available to student permit holders.
    • With supplemental permit: all-day access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces at all faculty/staff parking areas.
  • Community/Visitor Permit with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • Access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces within lots available with the Community/Visitor permit.

Faculty/Staff Parking Information

Student Parking Information

Community/Visitor Permit Information

Parking Access - Commonwealth Campus Permits with ADA (at University Park)

  • Commonwealth Campus Faculty/Staff Permit with ADA Placard/Plate:
    • All-day access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces at all Orange and Commuter areas.
    • Evening/weekend access to ADA and regular non-reserved spaces at all faculty/staff parking areas (except East, HUB, Nittany, and West decks).
    • Registration with Transportation Services is not required.
  • Commonwealth Campus student parking permits are not valid for parking at University Park. See below for information on hourly/daily and event ADA parking options.

Commonwealth Campus Parking Information

HOURLY AND DAILY ADA PARKING

  • ADA parking is available at all hourly and daily paid parking locations. There are also a limited number of parking areas where paid parking is only available for ADA parking.
  • A state-issued ADA parking placard or license plate and payment of the hourly or daily parking fee provide access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces only within the purchased lot.

Hourly/Daily Parking Information

Daily Parking Reservations (University Park faculty, staff, and students only)

EVENT ADA PARKING

  • ADA parking is available for all Penn State events.
  • A state-issued ADA parking placard or license plate and payment of the event parking fee provide access to ADA and regular, non-reserved spaces only within the purchased lot.

Event Parking Information