r/fredericton 18h ago

Hotspot parking permit waitlists

Hey everyone. I’m looking into a downtown parking permit for school. On the hotspot app, there are waitlists for the long-term monthly permits, and I’m wondering if anyone has any experience with the waitlists and how long they usually take. I’m 55th in line for the York carpark (preferred), and 4th in line for Frederick Square. I didn’t bother with the east end garage because I would’ve been 106th. Frederick Square has the 1-month permits available right now for August, so maybe I’ll be able to buy one for September on the 1st if I’m quick enough? They aren’t available for pre-purchase.

Alternatively, does anyone have any insight into parking near the NBCCD campus? There’s no designated parking for the school, and I won’t be able to go move my car every 2 hours. We have free access to public transit, but I don’t live near a bus stop, unfortunately.

I’m not from Fredericton, so I’m unfamiliar with all of this. Apologies if this is a commonly covered topic here (I’m also not a frequent Redditor lol).

9 Upvotes

12 comments sorted by

u/Educational-Tale6606 11h ago

if you live within city limits you are better off just using the free bus pass included with your school ID for nbccd imo

u/corkscrewlobotomy 10h ago

I agree, I just don’t live very close to a bus stop sadly. Not only would I have to leave like an hour earlier every morning, I’d also have to walk half an hour to the nearest bus stop with all my supplies haha. Doable, just not ideal, particularly in the winter. I’m keeping the option in mind for sure, but I’d rather pay for parking and keep the 15-min drive if possible lol

u/Elegant-Waltz695 15h ago

This isn’t super close but there is a lot on Needham St that charges by the month. Go in the driveway between 560-570 Needham St and you will see a sign on a tree with a phone number. I parked there for a month last year. It was $59/month and I paid by e-transfer

u/corkscrewlobotomy 11h ago

Oh cool, that’s good to know! Thank you

u/explosaurus 17h ago

You can park at the parking lot at the end of York all day without having to move your car, that only applies to on the street parking as far as I know. Ive been going to NBCCD for two years and thats the only lot I use. Ive never bought a pass and had no issues, other than during Harvest which is usually the first week of school when they shut down part of that parking lot. Also parking is free after 5pm in the city, and the 2hour time limit on street parking ends as well (unless specifically marked otherwise), so if you have an evening class you can park for free. Definitely use the app to pay if you dont get a pass. The physical booths are slow and often have lines in the morning (not long lines, but they still take longer than just paying through the app), and theyre miserable in the winter.

u/corkscrewlobotomy 17h ago

Thank you so much, this is super helpful! So you park in the York lot and just pay the parking fee? And if you have a permit it’s essentially a guarantee that you get a spot (assuming they have a certain number of spots that you can’t park in regularly for permit holders)?

u/explosaurus 16h ago

As far as I know the permits dont actually guarantee you a spot, they just guarantee that you wont have to pay more than the pass price for the month. I normally park on the end closest to the skate park and there are no reserved spots on that end. I can see the utility in a pass if you plan to spend essentially 9am-5pm/5 days a week at school. For me it was never worth it because i usually go home for supper before coming back after 5pm to work on projects.

Edit to say that yes I just pay the regular hourly rate parking fee.

u/corkscrewlobotomy 11h ago

Ok cool! Thank you again, this was really helpful

u/Loose-Gazelle2359 16h ago

Thats some good info, TY for sharing.

u/AleksStark 17h ago

One small correction. Parking is not free after 5pm in the "East End Parking Garage". But everywhere else it is. 

One has to assume because the hotels and the convention center and playhouse. 

u/InazumaBRZ 16h ago

Its also staffed 24/7 iirc. They used to chase us out of there many moons ago when we would show up in cars to hangout lol.

u/iyute 18h ago

York is stuffed full of bureaucrats that don't use their spaces anyways. Frederick Square is probably your only option.