Vet Med Parking Question

[Clonefan94]

First year parking in Vet Med. I want to be prepared when we get into town, so can you enter the lots from University or do you have to go around to S. 16th and enter from that side?

I tried to call ISU, but it seems they must be backed up with the app problems and I finally got tired of being on hold.

 

[ianoconnor]

Great question - would like to know as well. In the past when it was a normal pay lot it was hit or miss. For a while they allowed entrance off University, then it seemed like that went away. Maybe now that it is donor they will hopefully bring that back.

 

[CYdTracked]

Usually they want you to make a right turn into the lot and will not allow a left turn across traffice to enter so the best route probably is to get off at University then turn onto S 16th. If you come from Duff to S 16th would not be surprised if they turn you away if you try to take a left as they will be filling the GA across from there with all the traffic that comes from Duff and backs up on S 16th before the lots open.

 

[Clonefan94]

Usually they want you to make a right turn into the lot and will not allow a left turn across traffice to enter so the best route probably is to get off at University then turn onto S 16th. If you come from Duff to S 16th would not be surprised if they turn you away if you try to take a left as they will be filling the GA across from there with all the traffic that comes from Duff and backs up on S 16th before the lots open.

OK Thanks. I have to grab my daughter from the West side of town, so I'm just trying to figure out a plan of attack as to not end up in the situation you describe, "No Left Turn"

 

[CYdTracked]

Just found this FAQ that kind of confirms what I posted although it only mentions post game but usually pre-game they don't allow left hand turns into the lots either from past expirience. Sure hope they follow this right turn only thing because last year they made you turn left onto S 16th and head to Duff after the game which I always felt was stupid forcing everyone to turn into traffic. I prefer to go to University as I have to head West out of town to leave so going to Duff was a pain for me.

Know Before You Go: Iowa State vs. UNI - Iowa State University Athletics (cyclones.com)

Parking Overview

All parking lots will open 6 hours prior to kickoff, but not earlier than 6 a.m. Single-game car parking is pre-sold in advance of gameday. Purchase single-game parking passes here.

The grass parking lots along South 16th Street South of Jack Trice Stadium, along with the paved lot at the College of Veterinary Medicine will be right turn only during post-game traffic egress.

There are several parking lots on campus to park free of charge that are within a mile of Jack Trice Stadium, however, tailgating is not permitted in campus parking lots. A map of on campus parking may be found at: https://www.parking.iastate.edu/fil...otball Parking Map-no tailgating mobile_2.pdf

 

[yowza]

I believe they want you entering off of S 16th street. I say that because I had a grass lot pass for the Baylor game last year and I pulled into Vet Med area off University just north of 30. There was a kid there, but he was not taking money or checking passes for Vet Med. He told me I was supposed to go down to S 16th and come up that way if Vet Med pass. I asked if I could drive through Vet Med area given traffic and I showed him I had a general pass in the grass lots. He let me go through. I ended up just parking on the concrete in Ved Med and no one said anything and wasn't left any kind of ticket and the lot was not close to full.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

Because I haven't seen anything on the website, yesterday I sent a message with the subject line: Map of parking lot entrance path for football games, and message:
Where can I find maps of traffic flow/entrances to parking lots for home football games? With all the changes since last fall - including allowable entrance time -- it's vital that people know how and where and when they are allowed to enter their specific lots this year.
I took a quick look on the website for parking and it shows only parking, not entrances and traffic patterns to get there.
https://dxbhsrqyrr690.cloudfront.net/sidearm.nextgen.sites/isuni.sidearmsports.com/images/2023/5/26/Football_Parking_Map_2023_V2.png

No reply yet (sent to [email protected]) so looked at messages from last year and resent it to [email protected]. Surely they've already got a plan in place.....

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

Know Before You Go: Iowa State vs. UNI - Iowa State University Athletics (cyclones.com)

I read that and in the part about lot openings, there's this:
Please do not arrive more than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled opening of the parking lots. Cars staged or parked near the entrance of each lot may be asked to move until 30 minutes in advance of the lots scheduled opening. On average, our data shows that only 20% of the stalls are filled within the first two hours of lots opening.
No tailgating is permitted until the lots are open and any vehicle entering the lots prior to the scheduled opening times may be subject to tow.


I rolled my eyes.
First, you never have enough people there early anyway. I can't believe there will be enough to drive around everywhere clearing out vehicles that are parked in line to enter more than 30 min ahead of lots opening.
And the bolded -- what do you think that will prove? People who want a specific spot will be there early. The others won't. Duh.

Second, it's not that vehicles are entering early, it's that people are carrying/pulling/dragging chairs, coolers, tents, etc. into the lots to save their preferred spots.

 

[Sigmapolis]

I've always parked around Central Campus and walked in the past. I cannot do that on Saturday, though, because of the heat, having an older family member with me who cannot walk that far in that heat, and only being able to leave from Clive around 11:30 AM and hoping for the best on when I'll make it.

I bought a VetMed public ticket. I assume that means the brown lots here?



The ticket has a section/row/seat on it. Are those "real" or is it first-come first-serve?

Sounds like it is better to plan to come in from the east, not from the south on University, right?

 

[Tailg8er]

I've always parked around Central Campus and walked in the past. I cannot do that on Saturday, though, because of the heat, having an older family member with me who cannot walk that far in that heat, and only being able to leave from Clive around 11:30 AM and hoping for the best on when I'll make it.

I bought a VetMed public ticket. I assume that means the brown lots here?

View attachment 116074

The ticket has a section/row/seat on it. Are those "real" or is it first-come first-serve?

Sounds like it is better to plan to come in from the east, not from the south on University, right?

There's no such thing as "Vet Med Public" parking this year as that lot is donor only, guessing you just have a public grass pass which includes those brown ones, yes. The sections on those are irrelevant, first come first serve. Once one fills up, that lot will no longer be available.

 

[CYdTracked]

I read that and in the part about lot openings, there's this:
Please do not arrive more than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled opening of the parking lots. Cars staged or parked near the entrance of each lot may be asked to move until 30 minutes in advance of the lots scheduled opening. On average, our data shows that only 20% of the stalls are filled within the first two hours of lots opening.
No tailgating is permitted until the lots are open and any vehicle entering the lots prior to the scheduled opening times may be subject to tow.


I rolled my eyes.
First, you never have enough people there early anyway. I can't believe there will be enough to drive around everywhere clearing out vehicles that are parked in line to enter more than 30 min ahead of lots opening.
And the bolded -- what do you think that will prove? People who want a specific spot will be there early. The others won't. Duh.

Second, it's not that vehicles are entering early, it's that people are carrying/pulling/dragging chairs, coolers, tents, etc. into the lots to save their preferred spots.

I've sat on Duff right off the 30 exit for over an hour before waiting to get into the grass lots one of the mornings we had College Gameday there. In fact one of the times we hosted GameDay I probably sat in traffic over 2 hours before we finally got parked which was just rediculous as they opened the lots early those morning so people could attend GameDay and they still couldn't manage the traffic.

It's just ridiculous for them to take such a hard stance on when to open the lots of when you have traffic backed up so far it impedges normal traffic flow. We don't get in line too early but the parking people are usually already there early to make sure no one goes in early so at some point you'd think the police would just tell them to open the lots to clear the traffic as asking all that traffic to move which is just going to congest everything more as they circle back around to get back in line.

And once you do get in the lot usually they have such a backwards way of trying to park everyone it just slows down the process even more because they have no logic in how they fill the lot. You'd think once you get vehicles through the gate you'd start from the end of the 1st row and work your way back to the gate instead of starting at the gate then having every car after that have to drive past people who have already parked and are starting to setup their tailgate where you are moving cars through.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

I've sat on Duff right off the 30 exit for over an hour before waiting to get into the grass lots one of the mornings we had College Gameday there. In fact one of the times we hosted GameDay I probably sat in traffic over 2 hours before we finally got parked which was just rediculous as they opened the lots early those morning so people could attend GameDay and they still couldn't manage the traffic.

It's just ridiculous for them to take such a hard stance on when to open the lots of when you have traffic backed up so far it impedges normal traffic flow. We don't get in line too early but the parking people are usually already there early to make sure no one goes in early so at some point you'd think the police would just tell them to open the lots to clear the traffic as asking all that traffic to move which is just going to congest everything more as they circle back around to get back in line.

And once you do get in the lot usually they have such a backwards way of trying to park everyone it just slows down the process even more because they have no logic in how they fill the lot. You'd think once you get vehicles through the gate you'd start from the end of the 1st row and work your way back to the gate instead of starting at the gate then having every car after that have to drive past people who have already parked and are starting to setup their tailgate where you are moving cars through.

To be clear, I'm talking about the paved lots north of the stadium, but your point is well taken.

 

[Sigmapolis]

There's no such thing as "Vet Med Public" parking this year as that lot is donor only, guessing you just have a public grass pass which includes those brown ones, yes. The sections on those are irrelevant, first come first serve. Once one fills up, that lot will no longer be available.

Thank you. I wasn't expecting to park at the paved lots near VetMed (the green-and-red striped one on the map). I'm not as familiar with the terminology, and it sounds like it has changed.

Sounds like the best idea is to come in on S 16th from the east and park towards the back of the general public lots (again, brown on the map) and just take what I can get at that point?

Do those lots ever fill? Are there any good backups nearby (e.g., in front of the old Target) with shuttles?

 

[thisISnextyear]

I read that and in the part about lot openings, there's this:
Please do not arrive more than 30 minutes prior to the scheduled opening of the parking lots. Cars staged or parked near the entrance of each lot may be asked to move until 30 minutes in advance of the lots scheduled opening. On average, our data shows that only 20% of the stalls are filled within the first two hours of lots opening.
No tailgating is permitted until the lots are open and any vehicle entering the lots prior to the scheduled opening times may be subject to tow.


I rolled my eyes.
First, you never have enough people there early anyway. I can't believe there will be enough to drive around everywhere clearing out vehicles that are parked in line to enter more than 30 min ahead of lots opening.
And the bolded -- what do you think that will prove? People who want a specific spot will be there early. The others won't. Duh.

Second, it's not that vehicles are entering early, it's that people are carrying/pulling/dragging chairs, coolers, tents, etc. into the lots to save their preferred spots.

So what time are you getting in line Saturday?

 

[ForbinsAscynt]

I have only RV parked there and we would line up the night before, usually in the former KMart parking lot. Beware of massiv road construction on 16th. The westbound lane is tore up almost the the golf course right now.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

So what time are you getting in line Saturday?

Haven't gotten that far in planning yet. Need to know the correct location and direction to enter my lot.

 

[Ms3r4ISU]

I have only RV parked there and we would line up the night before, usually in the former KMart parking lot. Beware of massiv road construction on 16th. The westbound lane is tore up almost the the golf course right now.

From a City of Ames email today (note it says Wed. so hopefully not an issue Sat.)

The two north lanes of South 16th Street between Golden Aspen Drive and South Duff Avenue will be paved on Wednesday, Aug. 30. To ensure the safety of the traveling public and workers onsite, South 16th Street will be closed to all westbound traffic between Golden Aspen Drive and South Duff Avenue from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The single lane for eastbound traffic will remain open. Access to businesses on the north side of South 16th Street will be via South Duff Avenue.

 

[Agclone91]

From a City of Ames email today (note it says Wed. so hopefully not an issue Sat.)

The two north lanes of South 16th Street between Golden Aspen Drive and South Duff Avenue will be paved on Wednesday, Aug. 30. To ensure the safety of the traveling public and workers onsite, South 16th Street will be closed to all westbound traffic between Golden Aspen Drive and South Duff Avenue from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 30. The single lane for eastbound traffic will remain open. Access to businesses on the north side of South 16th Street will be via South Duff Avenue.

They started paving a portion of it today actually. Whether or not it will be fully complete and open by Saturday is yet to be seen - my guess is probably not.

 

[ruxCYtable]

I've always parked around Central Campus and walked in the past. I cannot do that on Saturday, though, because of the heat, having an older family member with me who cannot walk that far in that heat, and only being able to leave from Clive around 11:30 AM and hoping for the best on when I'll make it.

I bought a VetMed public ticket. I assume that means the brown lots here?

View attachment 116074

The ticket has a section/row/seat on it. Are those "real" or is it first-come first-serve?

Sounds like it is better to plan to come in from the east, not from the south on University, right?

I bought a public parking ticket and it says section 98. Does that section actually exist? Or can I park anywhere in the brown? Anyone know?

 

[Tailg8er]

I bought a public parking ticket and it says section 98. Does that section actually exist? Or can I park anywhere in the brown? Anyone know?

Yeah they've said those sections don't mean anything, it's a free for all for all brown lots. I assume the one up along University fills up, but not sure about the rest.