TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — With the start of the new school year quickly approaching, thousands of students and parents are heading back to Tucson for the fall semester at the University of Arizona.
The campus spans over 300 acres, beginning south of 6th Street, all the way north of Speedway Boulevard, boasting many ways for students to get around campus, and the Tucson community at large.
UArizona Assistant Director for Outreach for Parking and Transportation Nicole Feldt explains some ways to get to and from campus.
"You can use the Sun Tran, which has free fares on all its Sun Tran buses, and the Sun Link so you can use that until the end of the year for free..." she shared. "You can use our Cat Tran buses which is our free transit service on campus here, and it goes to some locations off campus."
Students and staff with cars can use the parking garages located around campus. Those looking to use the parking garages or park their car on campus must get a parking permit, or pay an hourly fee.
"Watch the signs, and make sure you are parking in the correct place," Feldt said. "There are a lot of reserved spaces on campus, a lot of disabled spaces on campus, service spaces, lots of different designated places to park."
Every summer, the university works to re-paint the lot, bike lanes and freshen everything up before the next school year begins. Biking is another major way students get around the UArizona.
"The city has the Tugo Bike Share that you can use, but we also have a free bike share program called Cat Wheels that you can come check out a bike from us at Parking and Transportation and you can use that bike daily," Feldt expalined.
And of course, students without cars or bikes have plenty of walking paths at their disposal to get to class.
"The campus is beautiful... it's nice to walk around and lots of things to see. [There] are lots of nice walking paths throughout," Feldt described.
There are often a lot of construction projects going on both on and around campus.
"Pretty much the same construction [from] last summer is still occurring. It's best to just watch for signage," Feldt shared.
Feldt also says the construction could cause delays for Cat Tran riders.
"If your riding the Cat Tran, there might be different routes and delays in service. The best thing to do is use our transit rider app," Feldt pointed out.
The app notifies users of road closures or delays from construction. That information is also available on the Parking and Transportation website.
"We have a page on the homepage where we list certain things that are happening on campus that may affect your drive to work [or] your parking location," Feldt said.
With a lot of students moving onto campus for the first time, many may be unfamiliar with how exactly to get to their destination.
"I encourage anyone moving onto campus, if you have a particular dorm you are assigned, go on the housing website and look at the map so you have a better idea of where you are going and how to get there," Feldt added.
Volunteers will also be around the university in order to help students find their dorms and any other locations they might be looking for.
Classes begin on Monday, Aug. 22.
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Austin "AJ" Janos is a producer for KGUN 9. He graduated in 2022 from the University of Arizona where he worked at UATV3 while attending college. Share your story ideas and important issues with AJ by emailing aj.janos@kgun9.com.
