Until recently, delivery and public transit vehicles making stops on campus to load and unload cargo and passengers have had to double-park, blocking bike lines along main thoroughfares. 

This has led to unsafe conditions for a growing number of cyclists who use the bike lanes on the street, as well as Penn Transit passengers who must walk across the bike lanes and parked cars to get on or off the shuttles.

As a part of Penn’s Green Campus Partnership, the Division of Public Safety, the Business Services Division, Facilities and Real Estate Services, and the Office of Government and Community Affairs have teamed up to make the streets on campus a bit safer.

The University has designated new curbside bus stops and commercial loading zones to allow for safer deliveries. The changes also aim to make it easier for Penn Transit passengers to be picked up or dropped off without blocking bike lanes.

New signs have been posted at the bus stops to inform drivers of the changes, and those who violate the new parking regulations will receive citations.

The Penn Transit bus stops and commercial loading zones that fall under this new plan are located along Walnut Street: including 3401 Walnut, the Penn Bookstore, and the David Pottruck Health and Fitness Center.

The new zones will also be in effect at stops along 40th Street. Those stops include the main entrance to the Fresh Grocer and the Robert Schattner Center at the School of Dental Medicine. On Spruce Street, they include Penn Vet’s Rosenthal Imaging and Treatment Center, the Quadrangle/College Houses, Gates Pavilion, and the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The bus stops will be in effect from 5 p.m. to 3 a.m., seven days a week.

The 30-minute loading zones at locations along Walnut Street will be in effect from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m., seven days a week. Parking in these zones during these times will not be permitted and violators will be issued traffic tickets. Drivers who park in the newly designated commercial loading zones will be ticketed $91. If a vehicle is parked in a bus zone, the fine will be $76.  

As an alternative to street parking, Penn Parking offers several off-street parking facilities that can be used daily or hourly. Garages are available at 34th and Chestnut streets, 38th and Walnut streets, 40th and Walnut, and Convention Ave., near South St. 

Parking lots include 34th and Chestnut streets, 38th and Sansom streets, and 31st and Chestnut streets, which offer paid parking after 4 p.m. during the week and all day on weekends.