Which Parking Ramp?

[BornandRaisedGopher]

We pick @ 1:30pm today. We are going to pick one of the Zone 3 ramps. Can't decide between Wash. Ave Ramp or 4th Street. We live in the Western 'Burbs.

Any thoughts, opinions?

 

[grunkiejr]

Driving in shouldn't make much of a difference. Assuming you are coming on 394 your choices are to take the Huron exit off of 94E and then either follow Huron to 4th St SE or turn on Washington Ave SE or you can take 394 -> 35W N and exit on either Washington or University. Otherwise you could exit in to downtown and take either Hennepin S to University Ave SE (by Surdyk's) & left on 17th St SE (for 4th Street) or you could take 4th St. S which turns in to Washington Ave SE. On the way out for either location you would be best to take 35W S to 94W to 394W. My suspicion is that Washington will be easier to get out on than 4th St. but I can't be certain.

The bigger decision for you to make right now is what you plan to do before the games. The 4th St. ramp is going to be closer to Dinkytown and closer to the Homecoming parade which matters for 1 of 7 games. Washington Ave is closer to Big Ten, Sally's, Stub & Herbs. Both are approximately the same distance to the stadium. Either ramp is a good location IMO.

 

[Inigo Montoya]

Keep in mind with parking

That you don't have to choose you at the same time you choose ticket location. You can check back to see availibility of each ramp or lot. I mention this because, IMO, the U has overestimated the amount of parking that season tickets holders are willing to purchase.

I feel after all the season tickets holders have made their choices there going to be many available spots on the East Bank. Now what the U will do with the unsold allotment is another issue. If there are 80 spots still available in lots C33 or C37 for instance, does the U eat the potential revenue? Or do they try to maximze profits and try to sell those spots and potentially pi$$ off people who had to donate at least $1000 in total to obtain said parking passes?

grunkiejr laid out a pretty good synopsis in his post. Either ramp will be a beyotch to get out of if you plan to leave immediately following the game unless you are of the Beat-The-Traffic ilk.

 

[grunkiejr]

I should add that the other option is to choose neither and to take a compromise like Church St. or Nolte. They are in the middle of the campus so they have the best of either ramp you're considering and also has the disadvantages of both. It opens up the choice to enter from either Washington or University and exit on either one. Compared to 4th St. it is 2 blocks further to Dinkytown but 2 blocks closer to Stadium Village bars. Compared to Washington Ave it is 3 blocks closer to Dinkytown but 3 blocks further to Stadium Village bars. For homecoming Church St./Nolte is as close or closer to University Ave as the 4th St. ramp.

The distance to Church St./Nolte from the stadium is approximately the same as any of the other ramp options.

My group is actually choosing Nolte but we are unique in that our group will be hanging out at a fraternity on 17th & Univ. before some of the games and Nolte is the closest parking option for us.

The ramps are smaller which should help getting out quicker but the roads you will be exiting on have less capacity than 4th St. or Washington Ave so I have no idea if it makes a difference that the ramps are smaller.

 

[GoAUpher]

That you don't have to choose you at the same time you choose ticket location. You can check back to see availibility of each ramp or lot. I mention this because, IMO, the U has overestimated the amount of parking that season tickets holders are willing to purchase.

I feel after all the season tickets holders have made their choices there going to be many available spots on the East Bank. Now what the U will do with the unsold allotment is another issue. If there are 80 spots still available in lots C33 or C37 for instance, does the U eat the potential revenue? Or do they try to maximze profits and try to sell those spots and potentially pi$$ off people who had to donate at least $1000 in total to obtain said parking passes?

I sincerely doubt they'll piss off people who donated money. If they overestimated the demand then IMO they will allow the lots that are open to remain contract parking. In this scenario the U would hopefully reconsider their donation levels, etc, and change the pricing structure/Zone structure to make sure that the East Bank lots are better utilized in Year 2.

 

[BrianW]

I should add that the other option is to choose neither and to take a compromise like Church St. or Nolte. They are in the middle of the campus so they have the best of either ramp you're considering and also has the disadvantages of both. It opens up the choice to enter from either Washington or University and exit on either one. Compared to 4th St. it is 2 blocks further to Dinkytown but 2 blocks closer to Stadium Village bars. Compared to Washington Ave it is 3 blocks closer to Dinkytown but 3 blocks further to Stadium Village bars. For homecoming Church St./Nolte is as close or closer to University Ave as the 4th St. ramp.

The distance to Church St./Nolte from the stadium is approximately the same as any of the other ramp options.

My group is actually choosing Nolte but we are unique in that our group will be hanging out at a fraternity on 17th & Univ. before some of the games and Nolte is the closest parking option for us.

The ramps are smaller which should help getting out quicker but the roads you will be exiting on have less capacity than 4th St. or Washington Ave so I have no idea if it makes a difference that the ramps are smaller.

There is no way you could get me to park in Church St. or Nolte. Getting in and out of those places with no event going on is a pain; on gameday it's going to be insane. You've got to mess with the stoplights at Church and University or Union and Washington. And then once you fight your way out of the immediate ramp area, you're still on University/4th or Washington with the cars coming from all the other lots and ramps.

That's just my opinion based on my parking experiences when I was a student 15+ years ago.

I agree with the other posters that the U has over-estimated the demand for parking. Some people just will not pay to park their car and would rather walk 5 miles if it means parking on the street for free. I am not such a person (I'm parking in the 4th St. Ramp) but I am related to a whole family of them.

 

[grunkiejr]

There is no way you could get me to park in Church St. or Nolte. Getting in and out of those places with no event going on is a pain; on gameday it's going to be insane. You've got to mess with the stoplights at Church and University or Union and Washington. And then once you fight your way out of the immediate ramp area, you're still on University/4th or Washington with the cars coming from all the other lots and ramps.

That's just my opinion based on my parking experiences when I was a student 15+ years ago.

I agree with the other posters that the U has over-estimated the demand for parking. Some people just will not pay to park their car and would rather walk 5 miles if it means parking on the street for free. I am not such a person (I'm parking in the 4th St. Ramp) but I am related to a whole family of them.

So the question is whether it is better to try to get out of a 43 unit garage at Nolte or a much larger ramp at 4th St. or Washington and then fight the same traffic on 4th or Washington.

 

[GoAUpher]

Hypothetical:
If you could change up the premium parking setup, how would you do it? Would you keep the same Zone structure and simply change the required donations? Would you add a new Zone level that would still require a donation but at a lower amount? Some combo of the two?

Here's my submission to the what if:
New Zone Setup: Go from 4 zones to 5 zones.
Zone 1 – required donation $2000/yr (reduced from $2500/yr)
- Parking Cost = $175/season
- Includes:
* Maroon Lot
* Gold Lot
* Victory Lot
* Gopher Lot
* Loses Lot 33 and the University Ramp to Zone 2
Zone 2 – required donation $750/yr (reduced from $1000/yr)
- Parking Cost = $140/season
- Includes:
* Lot 33 (formerly Zone 1)
* University Ave Ramp (formerly Zone 1)
* Northstar Lot
* Ski-U-Mah Lot
* Discovery Lot
* Loses Lots 37, C12, C51, C55, C58
Zone 3 – required donation $300/yr (new zone)
Parking Cost = $125/season
Includes:
* Lot 37
* Lot C12
* Lot C51
* Lot C55
* Lot C58
Zone 4 – What is currently Zone 3.
- The per year parking cost and list of ramps/garages in this zone are unchanged.
Zone 5 – What is currently Zone 4.
- The per year parking cost and list of ramps/garages/lots in the zone are unchanged.

 

[old chap]

I don't think there will be as many spots left as you think, at least of the East Bank Tailgate lots.

As of last Friday, there were roughly 1,000 $250 spots left and 41 $2,500 spots left.

The couple hundred indoor/outdoor club seats (and their hefty donations) left will take care of the $2,500 spots.

There were 1,340 $500 seats left divided by an average of 3 tickets per account means about 450 parking spots taken.

There were just under 2,000 $250 seats left, divided by 4 tickets means 500 parking spots.

I know these numbers aren't exact as people have bigger/smaller accounts etc, but add it all up and nearly every East Bank Tailgate lot is accounted for.

 

[BrianW]

So the question is whether it is better to try to get out of a 43 unit garage at Nolte or a much larger ramp at 4th St. or Washington and then fight the same traffic on 4th or Washington.

It's all a matter of personal preference, of course.

I plan to generally arrive early enough so that I'll be parked on the lower levels of my ramp, which should make getting out slightly less painful.

Also, Church St. (and I think Nolte) are underground. I'm slightly claustrophobic, and just for my own sanity I would never pick an underground garage over an open-air ramp. YMMV of course, which is why they give us all the different choices.