After months of waived fees from the local government and university, Chapel Hill motorists should prepare to once again pay when parking in Chapel Hill.

Parking fees are set to be reinstated beginning this Saturday, August 1. The Town of Chapel Hill temporarily stopped charging for downtown parking in March amid the coronavirus pandemic, a move to help drivers stopping in at the local businesses and restaurants.

But starting Saturday, on-street parking spaces will again require payment Mondays through Saturdays, 8:00 am to 6:00 pm. Off-street parking spaces, like parking decks and surface lots, require payment Monday through Saturday, 8:00 am to 8:00 pm. Rates are $1.75 per hour for on-street parking and $1.50 per hour for off-street parking.

    As UNC students and faculty return to campus next week, the university is also implementing its parking regulations once again. UNC’s Transportation and Parking Department alerted the community its permit year for parking will also begin on Saturday, two weeks earlier than normal to account for the earlier academic year.

    To accommodate for increased commuters coming to campus, UNC’s pricing strategy has been adjusted for the fall. According to the parking department, employees who report to campus three days or less are eligible for a reduced permit cost, while all students with commuter permits will receive semester-long permits instead of yearly ones.

    The Weeknight Parking Program instituted by UNC last year also has been adjust to changes in evening class and lab scheduled. Weeknight parking permits are honored in designated lots like before, but charged parking will now begin at 4 p.m. instead of 5 p.m. for vehicles remaining overnight.

    In addition, the university is transitioning to entirely virtual permits for UNC employees and students starting this fall. The permits will be registered to vehicle license plates, eliminating the physical tag and creating a requirement for vehicles to parking with their plates visible to the travel lane. According to the university, department permits, including service, state vehicle, and official visitor permits, will remain physical hang tags.

    More information about changes to UNC’s parking plan can be found on the Department of Transporation and Parking’s website.

    Photo via the Town of Chapel Hill.

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