Cars

Any student who registers with safety and security is allowed to have a car on campus, regardless of year.

If Security gives you a ticket and you don't pay it within ten days, they smack you with a $5 fine.

Contents

[edit] Needed?

It is not necessary to have a car at Oberlin, mostly because other people you know will have one, and there are things like the LCT. It's easier to get around with your own car, but parking (or walking to wherever you had to park) can be a pain.

It seems that car use in Oberlin is heavier than ever in 2005. More often than not, there will be a car nearby while crossing Main St., Professor St., Lorain St., or College St.. Off-campus students are particularly prone to driving to campus, instead of the 2-3 extra minutes it would take to bike, and cars are squeezed in practically every parking place on-campus. Many professors bike or walk to campus, but many more drive. The constant speed and noise of passing cars almost always disturbs what could be a very peaceful campus, and this has been accepted for a long while now.

[edit] Letter from EPIG

Dear New Obies:
We're a group of students who would like to take this chance to talk to you a little bit about life in Oberlin. Oberlin is a small town of approximately 7,000 residents. Most of the town is within walking distance of the campus, and the downtown area, which has shops and eateries that provide just about everything you’ll need, is a block from the campus center.
We look forward to welcoming you to this unique and beautiful community and getting to know you in the coming months and years. As you make preparations for the upcoming school year, we ask that you remain conscious of the local community into which you will enter, and take this community into account when making decisions about what to bring with you.
You may be considering whether or not to bring a car. There are lots of common reasons: Oberlin is a small town that you may want to get out of sometimes; you may want a cheaper alternative to get between home and school; or you may desire the flexibility to travel within the region, as you may need for extracurricular activities. Let us assure you that there are several alternatives to bringing your own car that will address these purposes:
On campus, a car is not only unnecessary, but an encumbrance
  • Parking is minimal on campus. Most parking is located far from academic portions of campus and prohibited near academic buildings
  • From November to March there is a "snow ban" which means no street parking is allowed at night from November until March so that snow plows can be effective. (The snow ban will make sense after you spend a winter here.)
Oberlin is extremely bike friendly:
  • Bikes can be rented from the Bike Co-Op located underneath Keep Cottage for a refundable deposit of $30 and a $15 per semester rental fee.
  • Bike repair and maintenance, as well as the option to make your own bike, are also available through the Bike Co-Op.
  • There are bike racks throughout campus and new covered bike racks will be popping up in the fall.
  • Bike paths lead throughout Lorain County, winding through beautiful forests and countryside, as well as to Lorain County MetroParks. (Our nature preserves.)
For traveling outside of Oberlin, there are a variety of options:
  • The LCT; Lorain County Transit (www.loraincountytransit.com) serves Lorain County providing routes for students to and from the Cleveland airport, and to a Westfield Shopping Town (mall) in Elyria. Transfers from the LCT to Cleveland light rail are free. Using this transfer, you can easily access most parts of Cleveland.
  • The college is working on sponsoring charter busses between Oberlin and major cities such as Washington DC, New York, Chicago and Boston.
  • The college also has a few cars that are available to rent for academic purposes as long as you pass an Ohio driving test.
  • The Oberlin Classified section of the student website provides opportunities to post ride sharing information. Many students use this to coordinate carpooling to and from school over breaks, etc
Finally, if logistical reasons don’t persuade you, we in the Oberlin community are very environmentally conscious. We're working hard in all departments to reduce our impact on the surrounding environment and work towards a more sustainable future. Oberlin students are a critical part of this effort, and we ask that you help us in this goal by deciding to leave your car at home next year. And it will help to greatly reduce your ecological footprint, while helping build strong community within Oberlin. Email any questions to OCEPIG@gmail.com.
Enjoy the rest of your summer and we’ll see you soon!
Sincerely,
Concerned Students of Oberlin College
Environmental Policy Implementation Group (EPIG)

(from here)

[edit] Registering with the college

You should register your car when you get to campus, mainly because Snow ban means you can't park your car on the street in the early mornings from November to April, or you will get tickets. Registration is $150 per academic year. To register your car, go to the Security office with your license, registration and $150 cash/check.

Don't borrow other people's parking permits; Security notices and doesn't like it. They'll boot your car and make you pay a ton to get it taken off. And if you don't pay up within two days, they'll tow it and make you pay the tow fine too.

Temporary permits are available for visitors; talk to Security about it.

[edit] Parking

When Snow ban is not in effect (i.e. April 1 to November 1), cars may not be parked on residential streets for more than two hours or the City of Oberlin will give you the business.

A student parking permit will allow you to park any time of day in certain parts of these parking lots:

[edit] Registering your car in Ohio

If you get a car while going to school, you might not want to register your car in Ohio, cause they'll send the renewal information to your address and it might never get to you, and then your registration expires without you knowing.

[edit] Emissions

If you need to get your emissions checked in Ohio, there is an Ohio E-Check place at 205 Sandstone Blvd in Amherst (map, directions). It costs $19.50 (cash/check only), and not counting the wait, the check itself can take less than five minutes.

[edit] External links

Retrieved from "http://oberwiki.net/Cars"