Where do I park in Athens?
It is a familiar question for people who shop, study, work or live in Athens. I heard that when the city was founded, first thing they did was to install parking meters for horses.
While today’s Athens Ohio apartments have parking for their tenants, other spaces around the city can be rare. And if you are visiting Athens Ohio student rentals, you may have a hard time finding parking spots.
Athens Parking FAQs
Why is it so hard to find a place to put my car?
What if I get a ticket?
How do they know the minute my meter has run out?
How long can I park my car around town?
Can I use this “coin shortage” as an excuse to not feed the parking meters in Uptown Athens?
In order to answer a few questions, we put together this short guide to parking in Athens.
Short-term parking
Uptown Athens and the Ohio University campus offers metered parking spaces. The meters are usually for up to two hours. You can now pay for parking with an app. You can also pay at the meter.
They will catch you if you don’t feed the meter – I don’t know how they are so fast, but the city and university often catch people with expired meters.
Long-term parking
If you do not live in an apartment with parking, you can park in neighborhood streets. The only problem is that the cars have to be moved every 24 hours. If you want to park for long periods of time, you may need to pay for parking.
The Athens County Fairgrounds offers long-term parking. Several private lots around town also offer long-term parking.
Parking on the Ohio University campus
Parking on campus – The university offers some metered spaces, but the rest are all permit spaces. You have to buy permits that are available to employees, students and visitors. You also have to park in certain lots. They check the lots frequently during regular business hours. You can find more information here.
Parking illegally – Parking illegally could lead to a ticket or even getting your car towed. Getting your vehicle towed is a huge pain. You have to pay to get it out and you have to get a ride to retrieve the car/ The city and university make the tickets easy to pay. It’s important to try to pay the fees quickly so they don’t increase.
Parking garage – Many people drive right past it, but the parking garage in Uptown Athens is very convenient. It usually has spaces and it is an easy walk to restaurants, shops and other businesses.
More information on parking – This Athens City Government webpage has great information on parking in Athens
More information on the best rentals in Athens – For the best selection of Athens Ohio student rentals and rentals for families, check out our property listings.