Parking permits at Carleton University will be more exclusive next September.
In the 2025-2026 academic year, students commuting from within Ottawa transit boundaries — including Stittsville, Kanata, Orleans and Manotick — will not be eligible for a parking permit.
Due to “high demand for parking on campus,” students purchasing a permit will require a U-Pass waiver, according to the university’s website. Only students who live outside Ottawa’s transit bounds are eligible applicants for a waiver.
Neighbourhoods outside of the bounds and eligible for a U-Pass waiver include Clarence-Rockland, Carleton Place and Smiths Falls.
“Following the permanent closure of the P9 parking garage, Carleton no longer has the capacity to meet historic levels of student parking permit demand,” a university spokesperson told the Charlatan in a July 8 statement.
In May 2024, Carleton’s Board of Governors approved the $8-million budgeted demolition of the P9 parking garage beside Pigiarvik. The lot was demolished throughout the 2024-2025 academic year.
“Students are encouraged to take advantage of OC Transpo Park & Ride facilities across the city,” the statement continued. “We encourage students to choose the solution that best fits their needs.”
But some students say the limitations force them to rearrange their plans.
‘A lot more difficult’
Andy Carson, a third-year computer systems engineering student, lives a 15-minute drive away from Carleton, but his commute using OC Transpo is more than an hour long.
“I’ve tried continuously to use public transit,” he said. “I’ve missed several lectures, I’ve been late to labs and whatnot.”
Carson said he will explore commuting options like sharing a parking permit with someone eligible for a U-Pass waiver, carpooling or taking an Uber as a last resort.
“It’s definitely going to make my life a lot more difficult, and it’s discouraging me to go to campus,” he said.
It’s a similar situation for Kaya Comeau, a second-year philosophy and art history student who heard about the parking permit limitations on social media.
A Carleton spokesperson said information about the limitations was shared in June, adding it “was done earlier than previous years,” but the university did not respond to questions about what specific efforts were made to share the information with students.
It’s discouraging me to go to campus. – Andy Carson
Comeau is a 20-minute drive away from campus, but that trip triples in length in a best-case scenario on public transit — which she said “in this city, is not a guarantee.”
She said she is re-planning her timetable to avoid being on campus every day.
“It’s just frustrating because I shouldn’t be having to change my courses to accommodate how I can get to school,” she said.
Parking permits allow for the “only real convenient way” to get to campus, said Franco Ianni-Lucio, a second-year political science student.
Ianni-Lucio’s drive to school usually takes between 10 and 15 minutes, while bussing would be an hour “at the shortest.” Ianni-Lucio said he plans to pay for parking on campus, since other nearby street parking like Sunnyside Avenue or Bank Street are often always “packed.”
‘Limits educational opportunities’
All-day buses are non-existent for some students like Maeve Villeneuve-Elson, a fourth-year political science and law student who lives within the rural transit bounds.
Only three buses commute daily from Villeneuve-Elson’s neighbourhood, she said, adding that the nearest frequent bus is a three kilometre walk away. She won’t be able to take courses that start later than 3 p.m., she said, because no buses would take her home on time.
“This limits educational opportunities,” she said.
Villeneuve-Elson said the new parking rules make her feel “anxious” and “unvalued” as a Carleton student, since it would take her up to two-and-a-half hours to get to school by bus.
Inadequate transit access, doubled travel times and caregiving obligations requiring reliable transit are common concerns that the Carleton University Graduate Students’ Association (GSA) are hearing.
Messages of “frustration and concern” have been pouring in to the GSA, according to president Zeina Al Attar in a July 4 statement.
Al Attar said the association is taking note of student feedback and looking to start talks with university officials.
Carleton did respond to requests for comment about students adjusting their schedules or how many complaints they’ve received from students.
Parking options and increasing fees
Carleton’s website notes limited all-day $12 parking available in parking lot 7 for students inside transit bounds who choose to drive to campus.
“Additional visitor parking options include all-day parking in Lot P5A ($13.50) and Lot P10 ($18.00). Other campus lots, including P1, P2, P16, P17, and designated street parking, are reserved for short-term use with a four-hour maximum,” Carleton’s statement added.
Campus parking rates are proposed to increase in the 2025-2026 academic year, to “bring parking spaces up to the market,” according to university registrar Suzanne Blanchard in a Board of Governors meeting on March 18.
While parking rate increases were not disclosed in the March 18 meeting, the university’s website shows a year-long student parking permit will cost $563 in the 2025-2026 academic year, a $113 increase from the $450 fee in 2024-2025.
“Carleton University recognizes that parking demand and traffic congestion have been long standing challenges in our city,” Carleton’s statement reads. The university’s Transportation Plan has a long-term focus centered on “improving campus transportation infrastructure, accessibility and safety.”
“Through the Transportation Plan we collected informed feedback from key stakeholders, including Carleton students, faculty and staff,” Carleton’s statement continues. “Student input was gathered through surveys and focus groups conducted over the past several years.”
But still, Comeau said she’s “wishing there was better communication with students.”
“This is too sudden of a shift,” she said of the permit limitations. “This affects the ability for someone to even attend school.”
Featured image from files by Leah Gordon/the Charlatan
