UNC-FSU parking (Chapel Hill, Franklin, Tar Heel: chapel, construction, university)

[dave in jersey]

We're going to the UNC-FSU game tomorrow, but it'll be our first time going to Kenan Stadium, and we have no idea where to park. We plan on getting there early to hopefully beat the traffic. Can someone clue us in on the best places to park.

[CHTransplant]

If you don't mind a little extra time, the park and ride shuttles are pretty convenient. From outside of town, the University Mall location is a good place to park and catch them.

[Kids_Dentist]

It depends on if you are planning to stay the whole game right up until the end.

If not you can park in the hospital decks and they are a 5 minute walk to the stadium. They will open one of them up to the public, it will be 10$. If you don't leave early expect it to take a long time to get out of the deck and to any major road out of Chapel Hill.

You can always park up on Franklin st. There will be pay lots, most of which are 20$. Same thing applies, leave early if you don't want to sit in traffic. This is a nice place because it allows you to walk through the quads on your way to kenan.

As someone mentioned there is always the park and ride option but I can't comment because I've never done them-

[CHTransplant]

I think the challenge for those not familiar with Chapel Hill, and the campus area in particular, is that it can be difficult to navigate, and know the "secrets" of how to slide in and out (and where) to avoid as much hassle as possible. The hospital lots are great in terms of proximity, but as mentioned the area around them can clog up (and the construction zones add to the difficulties). The ramps behind Franklin Street are nice too, especially if you plan to spend some time there before or after the game - but again, the traffic does get worse immediately around game time as you approach the edge of campus.

[Kids_Dentist]

Just got this from Ram's Club:

Kick-off on Thursday Night
Kick-off is set for 8 p.m., and gates to Kenan Stadium will open at 6:30 p.m

Dogwood Deck and Children & Women's Hospital Lot
Since UNC Hospitals will maintain a normal schedule, Dogwood Deck and the Children & Women's Hospital Lot will not be open for football parking. Rams Club members with these passes were mailed parking passes in a new location for the Thursday night game. If you are normally in one of these lots, and have not received a new pass, please call The Rams Club at 919-843-2000

Tar Heel Express
Tar Heel Express will operate as normal. Shuttles will begin from University Mall, Friday Center and "Touch DownTown" lots 3 hours prior to kick-off. Shuttles from Jones Ferry and Southern Village will begin 1.5 hours prior to kick-off. One-way fare is $3 per person, and a round-trip fare is $5

[Dire Wolf]

Kenan is a beautiful stadium, but the parking (and therefore tailgating) situation is just terrible. There is just something wrong about tailgating in a parking deck or taking a shuttle bus from the mall for a college football game.

[Kids_Dentist]

Originally Posted by Dire Wolf

Kenan is a beautiful stadium, but the parking (and therefore tailgating) situation is just terrible. There is just something wrong about tailgating in a parking deck or taking a shuttle bus from the mall for a college football game.

That's a compromise of having a stadium surrounding by pines and campus activity. I'd rather have the beauty of kenan and a little bit of a tougher tailgaiting situation vs. plunking a stadium down in a field (a la state) with no character but 'great' tailgating.

[T|K]

UMall is what we do most times, unless we get a pass from a friend to a parking lot that is close. UMall/shuttle makes it pretty easy to get to.

[geoff2v]

Note that while all these suggestions may be good, this game is on a Thursday evening, a workday, instead of a normal Saturday. It's the first Thursday evening game they've had @ UNC, so the traffic and parking situation likely will be much more chaotic than normal. My advice would be to park at one of the park-and-ride spots so you don't need to deal with this untested situation.

[dave in jersey]

Thanks for all the tips. The one thing I do know is that the university employees will be getting out of work at 3pm. That should help with traffic some what.