Relocate Triangle - An Insider's Guide About Moving To The Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill Area

County Government Databases For Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Public information databases come in all shapes and sizes, as anyone who has surfed the Internet knows. Not all things can be found online yet, however, and that includes information you can receive from county government offices. While there have been several put online in recent years to allow anyone to access public records, what does exist still remains somewhat spotty and sometimes difficult to find.

To address this situation, here is an overview of what currently is available from Wake, Durham and Orange county governments online. If it is not on here, chances are you will have to trek to downtown Raleigh, Durham or Hillsborough respectively to discover it instead, at least at present. Please not that these do not describe what are available through county library and county school Web sites – we will cover them in a later entry.

Wake County Government

Wake has Real Estate Data, Property Tax Information, Groundwater Information Data, County Maps, Voting Records and Restaurant Grades databases. You can even research Adult Home Care Facilities.

Durham County Government

Durham has several databases like Wake’s, including Food and Lodging Grades , Voter Registration Records, GIS Mapping and Property Records. Where it differs is that the Sheriff’s office has databases for an Inmate Population Search for details about people incarcerated and their release dates, and Calls for Service Report on complaints and emergency calls it has received. Finally, the Register of Deeds offers a Public Record Search, but only about real estate transfers.

Orange County Government

Orange County’s Register of Deeds offers a Public Record Search similar to Durham’s, as is its Tax Collection Inquiry database for Property Records. It also has a GIS Mapping System database and complements that with the Master Orange Address Database for the county.

In addition, the county lets you do a Building Permits and Inspection Query about current construction projects, and the Sheriff’s office has a listing of Registered Sex Offenders with photos and other details.

Parks And Recreation Bond For Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

In our Aug. 29 entry “Spotlight on Wake Bonds,” we discussed the upcoming Oct. 9 bond referenda for Wake County regarding Wake Technical Community College, the Wake County Public Library System and open space. We neglected to mention that the city of Raleigh itself is having its own bond referendum on parks and recreation the same day, so we will address that item now.

Raleigh voters are being asked to consider an $88.6 million bond issue for parks and greenway projects this fall. The city last held such a bond in 2003, when $47.25 million in parks system improvements won approval. Here is what is being considered this time.

Overview of Project Costs

Along with other available funds, the parks bonds will provide Raleigh with:
1) $16.1 million for the completion of projects approved in the 2003 parks referendum
2) $16 million for greenway development
3) $15 for park land acquisition
4) $4.9 to expand the capacity of current parks and recreational facilities, and
5) $36.6 to construct new park and recreational facilities.
Let’s look at some of these in more details.

2003 Projects Completion

Among those covered would be the Capital Area Greenway, which would connect the Neuse River to existing sections of the greenway system that run through Umstead Park and eventually Falls Lake, and an expansion of the classroom and meeting space at the Jaycee Center.

Greenway Development

This would include funding the Neuse River Greenway in east Raleigh south down to Johnston County, as well as an extension of the Walnut Creek Greenway from southeast Raleigh down to the proposed Neuse River Greenway.

Expanding Existing Facilities

The chief additions here would include a carriageway bridge for Pullen Park linking the park’s north and south halves, develop a park at the new Barwell Road community center, and find a new space for the Chavis Heights Carousel building.

New Park and Recreational Facilities

On tap here are plans for a community center serving northeast Raleigh, a state-of-the-art senior center with recreational activity rooms and fitness space, and an interpretive visitor’s center for the Mordecai Historic Park.

The Bond’s Prospects

As with the other bonds for Wake County, there have been little protests against the proposals so far, and with the successful passing of the 2003 referenda, it appears likely voters will favor this as well, though no one is predicting victory yet. For more information on the referendum, visit http://www.parksbond@ci.raleigh.nc.us or e-mail Stephen.bentley@ci.raleigh.nc.us.

Water Conservation Update For Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Following up on our Aug. 22 blog entry, and since there has been no measurable precipitation since that time, we are providing you with an update about the drought in the Triangle. As of this writing, the North Carolina Drought Management Council has designated the entire Triangle as being under a severe drought, which among other things means that all water users should seek to eliminate nonessential uses of water while following mostly voluntary guidelines.

Right now all of North Carolina is under some sort of drought advisement, as are much of the southeast and other parts of the country right now due to an abnormally dry weather pattern. With not much rain predicted in the near future, it appears unlikely that conditions will improve much, and as a result local and state officials have taken action and tightened up water use rules. Here are the latest by county.

Wake County Conservation Rules

Raleigh’s water supply, which serves most other cities in Wake County, went into Stage I restrictions on Aug. 28. From only midnight-10 a.m., even-numbered addresses can use automatic and manual sprinkler systems only Wednesdays, while odd-numbered ones can do the same only Tuesdays. Additionally, vehicle washing and pressure washing can only take place Saturdays and Sundays. Direct watering of impervious surfaces such as streets, parking lots, driveways and sidewalks is prohibited. For more details, visit here. Meanwhile, the town of Cary, whose separate water supply serves it, Morrisville and surrounding communities, released a statement on Aug. 30 saying that it will continue letting customers water three days a week using its year-round alternate day watering rules, but this may change if conditions continue to deteriorate. For more details, visit here.

Durham County Conservation Rules

After having only voluntary conservation practices this summer, Durham goes to Stage II water restrictions on Sept. 4. This means that residents are asked to limit the use of the following: washers and dishwashers (only wash full loads), toilet flushing to the minimum (whenever practical), watering the lawn only when grass shows signs of withering (after 6 p.m. if possible), watering of shrubs to a minimum and reuse household water when possible, car washing at home, washing down sidewalks, driveways, patios, and other hard surfaces, and the hours of operation of water-cooled air conditioners. In addition, customers are encouraged to use biodegradable, disposable dishes and utensils (residential and commercial) where feasible. For more details, visit here.

Orange County Conservation Rules

On Aug. 23 the Orange Water and Sewer Authority, which serves Chapel Hill, Carrboro and many communities in southern Orange County, announced a Water Supply Advisory that additional water use restrictions beyond those normally in place year round may become necessary if water supply conditions do not improve. For more details, visit here.

As we have said before, while a severe drought sounds alarming, it does happen frequently here during the summer and usually ends in the fall when there is more rainy weather. If people follow the guidelines provided here – and most customers have been doing so at this point – and the normal rain pattern occurs the next few weeks, further restrictions would appear unlikely. We at Relocate Triangle will keep you updated on the circumstances as major changes merit notice.

Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill: Spotlight On Wake Bonds

In our Aug. 27 entry “Growth Continuing In Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill,” we said we would talk about this year’s Wake County bonds in the future. That time is now, so here is an overview.

Bond #1: Wake Technical Community College

This bond seeks to raise $92 million as part of a four-year capital plan by Wake Tech for improvements estimated to cost $115 million. These will include a new building at the Northern Wake campus for classes in financial services, pervasive computing and informatics, an expansion of the Health Sciences campus to train more nurses and allied health professionals, repairs and renovations of several buildings on the Main Campus, renovation of the public safety facility, and the design and acquisition of land for a permanent Western Wake Campus.

Wake Tech is seeking bond money because its current enrollment of approximately 57,000 students is estimated to increase 40 percent by 2015 to 78,000, making it one of the most successful technical community college systems in the nation.

Bond #2: Library Master Plan

The Wake County Public Library System is the busiest of its kind in the state, circulating 9.2 million materials every year on average. Its cost of $1.67 per circulation is less than half the state average of $3.80. That activity indicates a high level of demand, and the system believes it must expand if it is to maintain its quality of service.

The $45 million bond would allow the system to open new branches in Morrisville, the Middle Creek community and the North Hills section of Raleigh, as well as expand or replace existing facilities in Cary, Fuquay-Varina and Wake Forest, and perform renovations and repairs on seven other branches.

Bond #3: Comprehensive Open Space Plan

This bond addresses efforts to maintain a clean water supply for Wake County into the future by preserving land in and around its watersheds from development. The county plans to raise $50 million from this bond, which would be used to purchase approximately 260 acres in the Swift Creek corridor, 216 acres of the Angell property in the Falls Lake area, and a total of 800 acres for several properties in the Marks Creek area.

Along with its partnership with other local governments and agencies such as the Trust for Public Land, Wake County has in the past preserved more than 3,500 acres of open space worth $62.2 million, with $36.5 million of that amount being funded by the county.

The Status of the Bonds

With the voting set for Tuesday, Oct. 9, predictions about how the bonds will fare are uncertain. The county did pass a $35 million bond for the library system in 2003 and a $40 million bond for Wake Tech in 2004, but that is no guarantee that either will pass. However, the sign that there is no organized campaign against any of them definitely is a relief to their backers.

Wake County leaders are promoting the bonds as the most affordable way for the county to keep up with growth, as they are the least expensive form of borrowing and offer a fair and equitable way to share costs over a long period of time as growth continues. They point out that should all three bonds be improved, the total tax impact including debt service and operation will be just $45 per year on a $200,000 home. Will this argument be enough to win passage of the bonds? We will let you know the results after the voting six weeks from now.

Getting Into the Zone In Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Chances are excellent that unless you are a farmer or someone who works from home, you will be living and working in two different parts of the Triangle when you arrive here. Much of this has to do with zoning in the area – despite trends in recent years towards mixed-use developments, the majority of districts in Wake, Durham and Orange counties are separated by the type of land use on them, from residential to office to commercial. If you are coming here and trying to research where is the best place to reside and/or work, you should take at least a casual look over what is available where to see if, for example, that home that appears to be a steal might not really be one for you as it borders property that is zoned for commercial development including nightclubs and other diversions.

The 15 or so incorporated communities in the Triangle all have their own individual zoning codes within the cities (with the exception of Durham, as we shall see), as does the area controlled by the Raleigh-Durham International Airport, so you will need to check those out according to which one(s) interest you. Outside those city limits, however, the following observations apply by county:

Wake County Zoning

Wake County has eight divisions of residential categories that differ from the density allowed for the number of homes in the district. This includes two residential divisions with watershed designations, but excludes the residential mobile home district. Other zoning districts include two for the airport (or rather near the airport, we should say), two for industrial, and one each for general business, heavy commercial, highway, office/institutional, planned development and research application. The latter of course is located only in Research Triangle Park. The vast majority of land is zoned as residential right now, but you have to realize that with 12 incorporated cities having their own considerable Extra Territorial Jurisdictions, or ETJs (for more on this, see our July 12 entry, “Straddling the Counties in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill”), it leaves not much acreage for Wake County to zone anyway, with most of the county’s districts concentrated south of Raleigh and Garner, east to the north and south of Knightdale, Wendell and Zebulon, and north of Interstate 540.

Durham County Zoning

Durham County handles the zoning for both the city and the county, which should in theory make it easier to summarize what exists. Unfortunately, the county Web site insists on having you click on an individual box on a map with a grid here that tells you what that section has and does not give you a whole overview of the county in one glance. Therefore it may take you a little more time to find the correct street or neighborhood you want, but we suspect like Wake and Orange counties the majority of available property not yet developed is zoned residential, especially north and south of the city of Durham.

Orange County Zoning

Orange County has the best resources for seeing what zoning is available – it includes not only a map but also a PDF document defining exactly what the district terms mean in regards to what uses can occur on the property. The only drawback may be the map may be a little too well defined – it took a minute or so to download on our computer that uses broadband, so expect to wait a while to view it all. What is striking about zoning in Orange County is how much land to the west and north of Chapel Hill is designated as a “rural buffer,” meaning it is planned to limit development of any kind there in the future to preserve the natural beauty.

So there you have it – a primer on the basics of the status of land in the Triangle. Hope you did not “zone out” from it, heh heh! (Sorry, could not resist that one.) For any specific zoning questions, click on the links for each county to find more information. Remember too that developers and others can petition for the right to change zoning at any time, and if that happens, the county is required by law to notify you if you live within 1,000 feet of the area affected and let you comment on the changes, if you feel like doing so.

Speeding Tickets in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

Yes, we know, you always obey the posted speed limits when you drive because you never break the law when operating a vehicle. Right. Now for the remaining 99 percent of us, here is what you need to know in case you are ticketed while trying to hurry to your arrival at your new residence in the Triangle, for example. Basically, be prepared for a tough ordeal.

The North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles puts the situation to you bluntly on its Web site: “Getting a traffic ticket in North Carolina can be a serious ordeal. Not only will it affect your driving record, but it will also impact your wallet. In addition to fines and court costs, insurance companies have their own points systems, separate from the DMV’s. So your insurance rates could skyrocket for common violations like speeding.”

Leaving aside the insurance system, the state point system just mentioned allocates three points for drivers convicted of speeding more than 55 mph, speeding through a school zone or speeding through a safety zone. If they find that you engaged in reckless driving, that earns you four points. (These points are greater if you are operating a commercial vehicle.) If you are found guilty of excessive speeding, your driver’s license may be suspended (which will require at least a $50 fee to restore your license once your suspension period ends) or even revoked.

If you earn seven or more points, you may be required to attend a Driver Improvement Clinic that costs $50 and will lower three points from your record if you complete it successfully. In the Triangle, these clinics are located at Troop C Headquarters off Blue Ridge Road in Raleigh and at 101 S. Miami Blvd. in Durham (the Durham one covers Orange and Durham counties).

On the other hand, if you somehow manage to accumulate 12 or more points within a three-year period, your N.C. driver’s license could be suspended. These conditions all apply the same whether you are cited by the North Carolina Highway Patrol, a sheriff’s deputy in a county or a city patrol officer.

Questions concerning a traffic ticket issued by a N.C. law enforcement officer should be directed to the District Attorney for the county which the ticket was issued. To find who that is, click here. Questions about the court date or location should be directed to the Clerk of Superior Court of the county in which the ticket was issued, and that person may be found here. Payment of fines and costs are not made to the officer but to the Clerk of Superior Court. The clerk does not accept personal checks, only money orders, bank checks and cash only when paying in person.

The fine entered by the officer on the back of the ticket is set by the Conference of Chief District Court Judges and not by the officer. The Division of Motor Vehicles will revoke a person’s driver’s license or the right to drive on an out-of-state license if the person fails to appear in court or fails to pay the fine and costs. The revocation will remain in effect until the ticket is paid and the person goes to court.

If any or all of your charges are non-waivable, you will have to go to court, whether you are pleading guilty or not guilty. There is no choice to enter a guilty plea and pay a fine. Your appearance in court is mandatory, and if you fail to appear, a judge can order that you be arrested.

Here is the really scary part: some lawyers may send you a letter offering you their services if they see you have earned a speeding ticket. The lawyers obtain the names and addresses from the Clerk of Superior Court. The officer issuing the ticket has no control over the advertising – the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that lawyers have a constitutional right to advertise. Talk about adding insult to injury.

So if you are going to speed – and yes, we realize that most of you will – be prudent in your judgment and avoid doing it around school zones (which are fairly heavily patrolled in the Triangle even when school is not in session) and for prolonged periods of time. The cost in time and money simply is not worth it – plus you have lawyers soliciting you for business as well. Need we say more?

Straddling the Counties in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

For some newcomers to the Triangle, particularly from smaller communities, there is an occasionally frustrating feature they encounter in that they live in one county yet find themselves at the same time located within the town limits of a place based in another. It applies already to parts of Raleigh being in Durham County, Durham in part of Orange County, Chapel Hill in Durham County, and Mebane lying in both Alamance and Orange counties. It probably will apply in the near future to Durham in Wake County and Cary in Chatham County.

The cities just mentioned have noticed much growth in these “straddling” locations, so it is not surprising they have included them as part of their tax base. But while these areas continue to be popular, they do make it difficult at times for people residing in them to remember that they are in a city primarily based in another county, due to several occasional conflicting issues.

Indeed, when relocating to the Triangle, you have to consider the implications of living in a “straddling” section. For example, you will find that unless you receive a special exemption or have them enrolled in a private school, your children will be going to school in your county rather than the one in your city. You will find that some services will be provided by the county and others by the overlapping city, and you must be sure you know which handles what elements, otherwise you could end up wasting time and maybe money in trying to address a problem with one local government agency when you really needed to use the other one.

These kinds of confusion also apply if you should be living in the Extra Territorial Jurisdiction (ETJ) zone for planning, which can extend out more than one mile from the city limits in some parts of the Triangle. That would mean you would have to meet the city’s ordinances rather than the county’s for something like building an extension to your house, which may take more time and money than it would under county requirements.

At the same time, there are advantages to living in a “straddling” neighborhood or even ETJ. You can save money in some cases – for example, Chapel Hill residents in Durham County get to enjoy Durham’s lower tax rate than Chapel Hillians who live in Orange County. Another is a certain cachet for the address – the possibility of living in Durham County but having a Raleigh mailing address is considered the best of both worlds to some people, as you get the less-dense population of Durham County along with a better-known city to call home.

Mostly, however, the big plus is that the region itself is basically considered one entity – hence the Triangle appellation covering most of Orange, Durham and Wake counties – and that with Chapel Hill, Durham and Raleigh now all bordering each other, divisions between the communities are becoming more superficial, and considerable joint planning is being done by the towns to make sure their visions for the future align with what each other plans as well.

Finally, while your prospective new home may not lie within the town limits of a city in another county right now, it may well be there in the future if it lies in the planned expansion zone by the city. For a guide to what is being anticipated in the future, see our May 11, 2007 entry “Triangle Annexation Plans.”

Valet Parking In Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

To some of us, valet parking reeks of sophistication, while others find it the height of pretension. Here in the Triangle due to the continuing strong growth in population, cities where it never existed as recently as the 1980s are finding it a necessity to cope with the parking and transportation needs of residents and visitors.

For example, according to this article on the Chapel Hill Downtown Partnership Web site, nine businesses on the West End of Franklin Street have teamed with the Downtown Partnership, a nonprofit organization charged with revitalizing the city, to offer valet parking Thursdays through Saturdays from 5-11 p.m. for customers who might be discouraged visiting them due to limited nearby parking options. Best of all, the valet parking is complimentary with a validated parking receipt from the business. (If you want to go somewhere else downtown during the valet service’s hours of operation, you can use the service as well, but it will cost you $5.)

Raleigh offers something similar with its designated downtown valet zones, according to this recent article in The Raleigh Chronicle. On Fridays and Saturdays from 5:30 p.m. to 3 a.m., at locations such as Blount Street next to Moore Square, you can drop off and pick up your vehicle for free while enjoying the nightlife.

Of course, not all valet parking in the Triangle is free. Most ones involving individual businesses start around $5 at least, and you are expected to tip your driver as well when he or she returns your car. There are some establishments that do offer it free to their guests, such as Nana’s Chophouse in Raleigh and the Siena Hotel in Chapel Hill, but they often are the exception rather than the rule.

So for your information, here is a sampling of what major businesses in the Triangle are known to offer valet parking for a fee currently (keep in mind that some offer lot parking as well, so it is not necessarily a requirement that you use the valet service):

Raleigh – The Capital City Club, Sullivan’s Steakhouse, The Angus Barn, The Office.

Durham – Duke University Medical Center and Health Clinics, Hilton Durham, Durham Marriott, MK’s House of Jazz.

Chapel Hill – The Franklin Hotel, Carolina Inn, UNC Hospitals.

In addition, most of the big shopping centers in the area such as the Streets at Southpoint offer valet parking, and should you be a guest at what is referred to as a “gentleman’s club,” all of those operations offer valet as well.

More Honors for Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

About every month or so we like to toot our horn about how great the Triangle is, but we do so by citing honors it has received from those outside the area. Well, it is that time again, so here is a rundown of the latest good news for the area.

Region Ranked Among 30 Fast Cities

Fast Company magazine, in its just-released July/August issue, ranks the Triangle on its list of 30 Fast Cities. What the publication defines as “Fast Cities” is, and we quote, “cauldrons of creativity where the most important ideas and the organizations of tomorrow are centered. They attract the best and brightest. They are great places to work and live.” Sounds like the Triangle we know and love.

The magazine started with data from Carnegie Mellon assistant professor Kevin Stolarick, the numbers guru behind Richard Florida's best-seller The Rise of the Creative Class, as well as CEOs for Cities' CityVitals survey, authored by Joseph Cortright of Portland, Oregon-based Impresa Inc., sustainability data from SustainLane and insights from the Institute for the Future in Palo Alto. They found that all 30 in their ranking offered opportunity, innovation and energy.

The Triangle (listed as Raleigh-Durham) received kudos for having the highest percentage of college graduates ages 25-34 in the country. Its write-up in Fast Company states the following: “This region wrote the original recipe for high-tech clusters: Start with careful planning, add a warm business climate, and top with a high quality of life. But don't forget the brains. Three big universities fuel innovation in biotech, pharma(ceuticals), and computer science.”

Nightline Profiles Triangle’s Real Estate Market Favorably

Last month Nightline, the late night news series on ABC, profiled the real estate markets in Raleigh and Charlotte and found that unlike some markets in other big cities, the growth here has been slow and steady, thus preventing a real estate downturn that many other areas are now undergoing. The large number of retirees and the region’s strong economy also were cited as pluses for the real estate market. Read more about it here.

Duke-UNC Basketball One of “The 101 Things Every Fan Must Experience Before They Die”

A list on the ESPN Web site that surveyed sports experts ranked watching a basketball game between University of North Carolina and Duke at either the Chapel Hill or Durham stadiums at 19th place among “The 101 Things Every Fan Must Experience Before They Die.” That is ahead of attending the Stanley Cup playoffs or the British Open, mind you. Here is what they have to say why a sports enthusiast needs to witness this event: “There are college basketball rivalries and then there is Duke-Carolina, which makes that Yankees/Red Sox thing seem like a simple misunderstanding. Cramming into old Cameron Indoor Stadium or marveling at the banners for all the Tar Heels greats in the Dean Dome is a college basketball experience not to be missed – even if you have to camp out in K-Ville for a couple of weeks to get a ticket. (Just check with a doctor first to make sure you have all your shots.)”

Now, you may not think this is a reason to live in the area, but trust us, once you see the way the teams compete for a victory in these games, and the way their fans celebrate when they occur, it is a sight to see. Maybe you will become part of the action too.

University Parking in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill

In our recent entry regarding “Parking in Raleigh-Durham-Chapel Hill” (see June 26), we promised that we would cover area university parking policies at a later date. Well, that time is now, so here is our overview, which focuses on guest parking (if you are lucky enough to obtain a parking pass due to your job at a university here, be eternally grateful for that powerful perk).

Basically, parking at area universities is quite congested, particularly during business hours weekdays as well as football and basketball games at nights and on the weekends. It is not uncommon to see people park along roadsides for the latter, and for universities to charge higher prices to park in areas nearest to the stadium or recreational center where the games are held. The meter rates at universities typically are higher than that for parking in other parts of the cities, allow less time and are less numerous than city metered spaces. Most of your options will be at lots that cost more than meters as well. In short, be prepared to pay more and spend longer time looking for a space when you are trying to park at a university compared to a city in the Triangle.

The breakdown of the parking situation per major university is as follows:

North Carolina State University offers visitors both hourly pay lots and parking spaces, but check out their other options. This university clearly does more than the other two in trying to accommodate their guests – you can purchase daily permits for just $2 per day at the Visitor Information Centers at Main Campus on Stinson Drive or at Centennial Campus on Varsity Drive, as well as the NCSU Transportation Office at 2721 Sullivan Drive weekdays from 7 a.m.-5 p.m. Visitors may also purchase permits online, and departments may purchase permits online for their visitors (yes!). State clearly has its act together for visitor parking – in fact, some businesses surrounding it in Raleigh may be well advised to learn how convenient the university has made things for its visitors.

According to the Duke University visitor parking page, “Duke University and Medical Center strive to provide convenient and affordable parking for all visitors.” If that is the case, they need to keep on striving. In terms of the university, you are basically limited to five lots apart from weeknights and weekends, with most charging an hourly rate of $2 going all the way up to $12 per day if you find yourself staying there all day. A flat rate is charged for events, including the much-desired basketball games. One piece of general advice: The parking lot across from the Medical Center has the most number of spaces, but it is the longest distance from most parts of West Campus (forget it for East Campus – you have to take a long walk and cross either under or over the Durham Freeway to get there from here). Parking off University Road is tighter, but it is much more accessible to the main buildings at Duke if you can find a space.

The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill visitor parking also mentions the availability of parking spaces in the town of Chapel Hill, which ought to warn you that this could be your trickiest place to you’re your car among the area’s centers of higher learning. Be prepared to walk even if you manage to snag some on-campus spot, because almost all of them are located blocks away from the major schools and attractions, with the possible exception of the Morehead Planetarium, although that one has rather limited parking itself. The university’s Department of Public Safety is known (and often disliked) for its constant vigilant patrol of metered spaces to see if they have expired, and since few last beyond two hours, you may find yourself having to run back to beat them even if you are less than a minute over on your meter. Meters generally run 25 cents per quarter hour, while lots can run up to $2 per hour.

If none of these suggestions sound good to you, you can take alternative transportation to and from the universities to avoid the parking costs. Just be prepared for the traffic to and from your university destination – you are not going to be the only person to realize and pursue that option.