Parking

Valparaiso University welcomes visitors to our campus and provides parking spaces reserved for visitors throughout campus identified by Visitor Parking signage.  A visitor or guest is defined as anyone other than a student, faculty, or staff member of Valparaiso University.

Visitors with motor vehicles who park on campus must obtain a free visitor’s parking permit from the Valparaiso University Parking & Transportation Office, which is located at the Valparaiso University Police Department (813 Laporte Avenue).

The exception to this policy is for visitors who are attending special events open to the general public. These include sport activities, plays, music concerts, etc. No permit is needed for special events.

It is the responsibility of members of the University community to make parking arrangements with the Parking and Transportation Office for visitors participating in workshops, conferences and other campus meetings. For more information contact us at 219.464.5131.

Some parking areas are divided into specific permit zones.  They can be identified by these signs:

Parking areas may also have specialized parking spaces, as identified by these signs:

Campus parking permit requests will not be approved until all outstanding fines for parking and traffic violations have been paid in full.

All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable, except in the instance in which a student withdraws from the university. Then a refund will be issued based on the university’s refund schedule, provided the permit has been returned to the Parking & Transportation Office.

Permits must be displayed from the vehicle’s rear-view mirror when the vehicle is on campus.  Lost permits can be replaced in the Parking & Transportation Office for $25.00.

Repeated violations may lead to impoundment of a vehicle.

The person to whom a vehicle is registered to on campus is accountable for parking violations with that vehicle, including the unauthorized use of an assigned parking permit.

A permit issued to an employee provides parking privileges only for the employee; it is a violation of parking regulations for a non-employee to use a Faculty/Staff parking permit and to park in an area designated for employees.

Vehicles that display a parking permit assigned to a different vehicle will be considered falsified or as an unauthorized transfer of a permit. Both parties will be cited and/or towed.

Parking permits must be removed and returned to the Parking & Transportation Office when parking privileges have been revoked.

A legal parking space is defined as an area specifically designated for parking and typically defined by parking blocks and/or painted surface lines and/or indicated with appropriate signage. Areas not identified as parking areas should be construed as “NO PARKING ” zones.

Parking regulations are enforced all year, regardless of whether or not classes are in session, unless otherwise announced by the Parking & Transportation Office.

Parking on campus is prohibited on grass and in areas where it would mar landscaping, create a safety hazard, or interfere with the use of University facilities. Such areas include, but are not limited to: posted no parking zones, yellow zones, fire lanes and access areas, crosswalks, sidewalks, hash mark areas, areas designed for special vehicles or other special uses, and roadways serving parking lots and buildings.

Parking in spaces marked for ADA are restricted to vehicles identified with appropriate tags or license plates or a special indicator issued by the Valparaiso University Parking Office.

Operators of vehicles on the Valparaiso University campus are subject to State of Indiana traffic laws. The speed limit on campus is 20 miles per hour whether posted or not. Drivers exceeding 20 m.p.h. face citations and fines.

Vehicles operated on campus are to be maintained in a safe operating condition at all times. Any vehicle that appears to be abandoned on campus may be disposed of in accordance with State of Indiana statutes unless special arrangements have been made with the Valparaiso University Police Department.

Individuals who are unable to drive disabled vehicles should immediately seek assistance with moving the vehicle to a legal parking area and notify the Valparaiso University Police Department of the difficulty with the vehicle.

Valparaiso University reserves the right to temporarily close any parking facility, to revise traffic and parking regulations during the year, and to make alterations in regulations for special events. When possible, advance notice of such changes will be provided.

Valparaiso University assumes no responsibility for the care or protection of any vehicle or its contents while it is operated or parked on campus. Operators are encouraged to always lock their vehicles when parked on campus and to remove items of value from the vehicle.

Parking citation payments can be made at the Parking & Transportation Office (813 Laporte Avenue) with cash/check. Payments using a credit/debit card can be made on-line using this link.

There are several reasons the University tows vehicles:

• The vehicle has been abandoned.
• The vehicle must be moved immediately for law enforcement and parking needs, such as it is blocking access to, prevents use of or inhibits operation of a facility, structure or activity; or it is causing damage, or represents a safety hazard, or is blocking a fire lane or Disability parking space.
• The vehicle or permit has an extended history of parking violations and ticketing has failed to alter its use.
• The vehicle has not been registered with the Parking and Transportation office.
• The vehicle is located in a closed parking facility.

Vehicles who have received more than 6 tickets per academic year will be eligible to be towed and impounded. Upon issuance of the 7th ticket, and each ticket thereafter, the vehicle may be towed and impounded by the towing company.

Citation History:

The history of citations accumulated by a vehicle during a permit year accompanies that vehicle during the remainder of the permit year.

Clean Record:

Vehicles will be cleared from the tow list at the beginning of the fall semester of each academic year, provided all fines have been paid.

If fines are left unpaid, the vehicle will remain on the tow list indefinitely.

Vehicles not registered with the Parking and Transportation Office:

Vehicles not registered with the Parking and Transportation office may be towed at any time.

As a courtesy, the Parking and Transportation office will issue a warning sticker on an unregistered vehicle.

That vehicle will be towed if the vehicle owner does not obtain a campus parking permit.

Game Day / Snow Removal / Lot Closure:

Lot closures will be announced in advance by campus email.

Vehicles that remain in a closed lot after the closure time will be ticketed and/or towed.

The vehicle will either be impounded or towed to another designated location.

Towing fees will be billed to the vehicle owner.

Abandoned Vehicles:

Abandoned vehicles may be towed and impounded at any time, without warning.  The Valparaiso University Police Department will determine if a vehicle has been abandoned.

Unregistered vehicles that remain in the same location for more than 5 days may be considered abandoned.

Liability:

The University assumes no responsibility for damage to a towed vehicle.

Call-out Fee:

If the operator of the vehicle shows up after a tow truck has been summoned but before the tow is completed, any applicable fees from the towing company must be paid by the operator.

Reclaiming Your Vehicle:

Owners and operators must pay all outstanding tickets/fines to the parking office and obtain a release, after which the vehicle may be claimed from the towing company.  All fees must be paid to the towing company before the vehicle is released from impound.

Current Towing Provider:

Green’s Auto Service
Phone: 219.464.1173
458 Washington St,
Valparaiso IN 46383

Operating hours for the tow contractor are 7am – 5pm, Monday – Friday.

The following reasons for an appeal will not be considered valid and will be automatically denied:

• Lack of knowledge of parking regulations
• Failure to notice parking signage
• Lack of parking in the immediate vicinity
• Failure to display a valid parking permit
• The vehicle was only parked illegally for a short period of time
• Being unaware a parking permit is required to park on-campus at all times
• Running late to class or appointment
• Other vehicles were parked improperly or illegally
• The need to leave immediately after class/meeting
• Parking illegally although plenty of spaces were available
• Inability to find an authorized parking space

This position involves the student employee working in the Parking & Transportation Office handling a variety of administrative duties.

Responds to customer inquiries via phone, email, or in-person.

Processing of parking permit requests using our parking software.

Handling payments for parking citations.

Answering questions regarding local transportation, parking citations, and campus permit options/parking locations.

Contributing to the department’s social media platforms, along with the use of applications such as Microsoft Excel, Publisher, and Canva.

Strong customer service skills are required for this position. Work shifts will be scheduled Monday – Friday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Applications can be submitted through CareerHub or by emailing a resume to parking@valpo.edu.

The Green/Remote parking permit is the basic parking plan at Valpo. This permit allows access to Green/Remote parking lots only. These parking areas are furthest from the campus core and are located on the perimeter of campus. Green parking permits are available to all students who qualify for parking permits, with the exception of resident freshmen. If you are only enrolled in evening classes (after 5:00 p.m. on weekdays), this permit would be an ideal option as you can park in any Commuter or Resident area after 5:00 p.m. provided you have a campus permit.

***All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.***

$150 – 2025-2026 Year (Fall & Spring Semesters)

$100 – 2025-2026 Single Semester

The Blue/Upper Class Resident parking permit is available to students living on-campus, with the exception of freshmen. This permit allows access to all residential lots/zones.

***All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.***

$260 – 2025-2026 Year (Fall & Spring Semesters)

$155 – 2025-2026 Single Semester

The Red/Freshmen Resident parking permit is available to freshmen/first-year students living on-campus. This permit allows access to the Parking Ramp and the Freshmen Resident overflow lot (Lot 35).

***All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.***

$260 – 2025-2026 Year (Fall & Spring Semesters)

$155 – 2025-2026 Single Semester

The Orange/Commuter parking permit is available to commuter students. This permit allows access to all Commuter (Orange) parking lots/zones and is provided in the form of a hang tag.  This will provide commuters with the ability to transfer the permit between multiple vehicles, provided all vehicles are registered with the Parking Office, and only one vehicle is on campus at a time.

***All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.***

$250 – 2025-2026 Year (Fall & Spring Semesters)

$150 – 2025-2026 Single Semester

The Yellow parking permit is available to all current Faculty & Staff of Valparaiso University. This permit allows access to all Faculty & Staff parking lots/zones, including the Parking Ramp.

The Apartment parking permit is available to student residents of University Promenade East & West.  This permit allows access to the Promenade permit zones, which are located behind Promenade East & West; as well as all Resident (Blue) parking areas on campus.  Due to the high demand for this permit and limited number of parking spaces on the premises, a lottery is conducted in May to determine who is eligible to purchase an Apartment Permit for the upcoming academic year.

***All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.***

$300 – 2025-2026 Year (Fall & Spring Semesters)

$180 – 2025-2026 Single Semester

*NOTE – Promenade student residents are also eligible to purchase Resident/Blue or Remote/Green permits if they desire, but will be unable to park in the Promenade permit zone on the premises of University Promenade.  Tickets in the zones at University Promenade are City of Valparaiso tickets, which are subject to the city’s rules and regulations.

The Summer parking permit is available to students living both on and off-campus. This permit allows access to all Resident and Commuter parking areas.  There is no fee to obtain a Summer permit.

Temporary permits are available to faculty, staff, and students, and can only be obtained directly through the Parking & Transportation Office.  A temporary permit will allow the member of campus to park in the lot/zone designated to them based upon their university classification (i.e., Faculty/Staff, Commuter, Resident, Freshmen Resident, etc.).

If a member of campus already has a permit and is in need of a temporary permit (i.e., original vehicle is at the mechanic, borrowing a different vehicle temporarily, etc.), no fee is required.  Otherwise a temporary permit can be purchased at the following rates:

Weekly Permit – $15.00/Week

*Weekly permits can only be used for a maximum of 3 weeks per semester.

Monthly Permit – $45.00/Month

*Monthly permits are limited to 2 months per semester, whether obtained consecutively or separately.

***All permit fees are non-transferable and non-refundable.***

TBD.

Monday, November 18th – Friday, November 22nd

11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

Monday, March 17th – Friday, March 21st

(By “Appointment Only” via recreationalsports@valpo.edu)

Monday, May 5th – Friday, May 9th

11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.

1. Students/faculty/staff will need to register their bicycles/scooters with the Parking & Transportation Office prior to placing their bicycle/scooter in storage.
2. When it is time to check-in your bicycle/scooter, students/faculty/staff will bring their bicycle/scooter to the north entrance of the Fitness Center where a staff member will be present to conduct the check-in process.
3. Bicycle/scooter owners will need to complete a liability waiver upon checking their bike/scooter into storage in order to utilize the storage program.
4. During the posted dates/times to check-out a bicycle/scooter, students/faculty/staff will come to the north entrance of the Fitness Center to meet with an employee who will check-out their bicycle/scooter.  Please note a valid I.D. must be presented at that time.

Transport of students and staff within campus boundaries.

Transport of students to and/or from local medical offices.

Transport those affiliated with campus activities to local special event locations.

If you need transportation to an off-campus medical facility, please contact the Parking & Transportation Office (219.464.5131 or parking@valpo.edu) to schedule a transport.

**NOTE:  The Transportation Service cannot transport any person in need of emergency medical attention.  If a person is in need of emergency medical attention, contact VUPD at 219.464.5430 or 911. **

The ChicaGo Dash is an express commuter bus service from Downtown Valparaiso to Downtown Chicago. Utilizing 53-passenger coach buses, the DASH allows you to travel in comfort to the vast employment, shopping, and educational opportunities of Chicago without the hassles of the traditional suburban commute. Lavatories, WI-FI, free parking, and even bike racks are just some of the great features offered by the DASH. Follow the links on the sidebar for more information.

The South Bend Airport can be accessed from campus using the South Shore Train. The closest train station to campus is the Dune Park Station, which is located just outside of Chesterton, Indiana.  The South Shore Train provides service eastbound to South Bend and westbound to Millennium Station in downtown Chicago, Illinois. Travel to the Dune Park Station can be accomplished via a friend or a ride-share service such as Uber or Lyft.

Accessing either Midway or O’Hare Airports in Chicago, Illinois can be accomplished using the South Shore Train, followed by the “L”, which is Chicago’s subway system.

The closest South Shore Train station to campus is the Dune Park Station, which is located just outside of Chesterton, Indiana.  The South Shore Train provides service both east and westbound, but for purposes of heading to Chicago, the westbound train terminates at Millennium Station in downtown Chicago.  Getting to the Dune Park Station can be accomplished via a friend or a ride-share service such as Uber or Lyft.

After boarding the South Shore Train and arriving at Millennium Station, the nearest L station is within a 5-10 minute walk from Millennium Station. The L has different routes that are designated according to color. The Orange Route will provide service to Midway Airport. Meanwhile, the Blue Route is needed to access O’Hare Airport. An alternative to taking the L would be a ride-share service such as Uber or Lyft.