Renting Your Own Parking in Athens Ohio Saves Beer Money
If you don’t know it or haven’t had the misfortune to experience it, the city of Athens is ruthless when it comes to street parking. The law of the land in Athens is that no one car can stay parked in the same spot for more than 24 hours at a time. Get caught by the meter maids, and you’ve got yourself a parking ticket. If you’re determined to beat the system, that equates to getting up and running out of your extra spacious student rental, hopping in your car, and moving it to the other side of the street—if there’s even room. Sometimes your luck will run dry, and you might end up needing to park even further away from home to find a spot and avoid being ticketed.
It doesn’t quite seem fair, but those are the rules, and they do get enforced. The easiest solution to avoid getting ticketed would be to park in an off-street spot, but—as you can probably already guess—not every college rental home around the Ohio University area is going to have its own dedicated parking spot that’s off the street. And if it does, even though it’s a sweet rental with three bedrooms, it might only come with two parking spots. In that situation, the math doesn’t quite add up, and you or one of your roommates will be left high and dry and at the mercy of the meter maids.
Parking tickets ultimately add up to beer and sandwich money you can’t afford to just give away. If you are unfortunate enough to get one, you need to pay up. After 5 days, the fine is substantially increased according to city ordinance. They can easily eat into your budget, and it’s always unexpected and painful. Likely being a college student is already hard enough. On top of classes, maintaining grades, having a social life, and taking care of yourself, it’s incredibly difficult sometimes at the end of the day to remember to move your car down the road from your two-bedroom apartment tucked away right off of Court Street. And of course, that rule is banking on that. A surprise ticket might mean not going to the bar, not eating out with friends, and not doing the things you really want to do. And since city regulations require you to move a car on any street space every 24 hours, you’ll likely rack up your share if you don’t rent your own Athens Ohio parking space.
Rent Your Own Space with Krause
Thankfully, even if your Ohio University rental with a spacious backyard doesn’t also come equipped with a few off-street parking spots, there are ways to circumvent the chaos caused by having to play musical cars every morning with the rest of the off-campus student body—find a rentable parking spot around the Ohio University area. When you compare the cost of renting a spot to park in for a whole year compared to the costs of potentially multiple parking tickets over the course of the school year, it just makes sense. Plus, it’s going to take away the constant stress of having to remember to wake up and move your car somewhere else before heading off to classes for the day. Win-win.
Luckily, Krause Rentals has several different private lots where you can rent Athens, Ohio parking. Prices are affordable and range anywhere from $300 to $500 per year, depending on the convenience of the lot. Some are within easy walking distance to uptown and the bar scene. Like gas money and car insurance, you might as well chalk parking rental up to a necessary expense if you own a car in Athens. And, like we said, the amount you’re paying for an entire year is basically only the cost of around a month’s rent—depending where you park your car, it could be even less. When you’re trying to go out with your friends or swing by the convenience store to pick up some drinks and snacks for the house party at that cool rental home with the humongous backyard down the street that your friend told you about, and the parking tickets have eaten into your budget for the month, a guaranteed parking spot free from the wrath of the meter maids will sound pretty good. Plus, you have the peace of mind of knowing where your car is at all times when you’re not using it—no guessing what street you moved it onto and most importantly, no parking tickets. Play the street parking game, and it will cost you, often when you’re down to your last buck and you want to go out with your friends.
Athens and the Parking Economy
Why would a city enact such a draconian rule around cars staying in the same spot for more 24 hours? It’s simple, actually. All of those parking ticket fees go straight to the city for development and other public needs. One way the City of Athens pays its bills is through parking tickets. The tax base is low, the parking tickets high. That’s no accident. It’s actually pretty common in college towns. But you don’t need to be a victim. Be smart. Rent your own space if you plan to have a car in Athens. We have parking lots convenient to just about anywhere, so you can definitely find one close to your apartment. Don’t be a meal ticket for the City. Save your money by renting your own space.