[Published: Sept. 18, 2020; Updated: Oct. 1, 2020]
OCT. 1 UPDATE: While an effective date for 24/7 enforcement has not yet been determined, a courtesy permit is being developed for Stanford affiliated or sponsored commuters who report outside typical commute hours and do not currently pay for parking. By registering their vehicles for the no-cost permit, students, postdoctoral scholars, employees and sponsored employees will continue to be able to park for free between 4:01 p.m. to 5:59 a.m. on weekdays and all day on Saturday and Sunday.
The permit will be available in the online ordering system prior to the start of 24/7 enforcement. Additional details will be shared with the campus community in the coming days.
To support campus health and safety and more effectively manage external visitors, parking enforcement at Stanford’s main campus will soon be transitioning to cover 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. However, the effective date of 24/7 enforcement has not been determined and no immediate action is required.
Once the timing is determined, we will announce it on our website and through other communications. In the meantime, you may notice updates being made to parking signage on the main campus.
This should affect a small percentage of the campus community, since those who currently have a valid Stanford parking permit are automatically covered for the extended hours at no additional charge and a much smaller population is required to be at Stanford after business hours. Those who park on evenings and weekends may begin to receive notices to explain the anticipated change, and we are available to help them through this transition in both English and Spanish.
Why is this happening?
The extension of enforcement to 24/7 is intended to further manage visits from external, nonessential visitors at the main campus. California Department of Public Health guidance requires institutions of higher education to “limit, to the greatest extent permitted by law, external community members from entering the site [campus grounds] and using campus resources, as the number of additional people onsite and/or intermixing with students, faculty and staff increases the risk of virus transmission.”
Without longer enforcement hours, the weekend and weeknight hours allow parking to be available to visitors on campus, including in campus zones where access is currently limited to approved students, faculty, staff, essential deliveries, testing, and maintenance. Since Stanford permit parking is not available to the general public, 24/7 enforcement will help to manage campus access and maintain a safer and healthier academic environment as on-campus teaching and research gradually resumes.
As a first step in Stanford’s effort to facilitate the safe return of teaching and research, visitor parking spaces were temporarily removed from the campus core as part of the campus zones program.
No change to enforcement at Stanford Redwood City or in special zones
There will be no change to enforcement hours at the Stanford Redwood City campus. Parking at Stanford Redwood City will continue to be enforced Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Parking restrictions on both campuses for resident, disabled parking, red zones, fire lanes, and special-permit-only spaces remain unchanged. Those spaces will continue to be enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
We would appreciate your help
As we work to implement this new approach in support of the health and safety of the Stanford community and the campus zones program, we face a challenge. The after-hours (evening and weekend) population is one we have very little information about and normally do not reach directly with our communications.
If you have information about individuals or groups who park during these times (after 4 p.m. and before 6 a.m. on weekdays and any time over the weekend), please let us know by using this form. We want to reach out to these customers to inform them in advance of the new enforcement hours, which will affect them if they don’t already have a Stanford parking permit.
We also welcome your questions or concerns, which could help address issues we may not be aware of. Please be assured that we have already considered and established a separate process for union-represented employees to help them through this change.
