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Commencement Parking

Chapel Hill Transit Tar Heel Express provides shuttle service from the Friday Center Park & Ride lot to Kenan Stadium Gate 2.

  • Bus service operates from the Friday Center Park & Ride lot at 6:45 a.m., running continuously until 9:30 a.m.
  • Bus return service from Kenan Stadium-Gate 2 begins immediately following the Ceremony and runs continuously for forty-five minutes
  • Department Ceremony return services to the Friday Center Park and Ride begins at 12:30 p.m. and operates until 3:00 p.m. from the pick-up locations of the Old Well, Student Union, and Smith Center. The return service is operated by Carolina Livery

Shuttles do not run from Kenan Stadium to the smaller ceremonies throughout campus. They only operate from the designated pick-up points (Old Well, Student Union and Smith Center) after the department ceremonies.

Carolina Livery operates shuttles designated public parking areas at 6:45 a.m. running continuously to Kenan Stadium – Gate 6 until 9:30 a.m. Campus Shuttles provide return services immediately following the ceremony and run continuously for 45 minutes. Department Ceremony return services to the Friday Center Park and Ride and the on-campus “shuttle lots” begins at 12:30 p.m. and operates until 3:00 p.m. from the pick-up locations of the Old Well, Student Union, and Smith Center.
Public Parking Lots with Campus Shuttle Service:

Shuttles do not run from Kenan Stadium to the smaller ceremonies throughout campus.

Public parking for students and graduation ceremony attendees may park in all lots designated as Public Parking located throughout campus (no shuttle service). Weekday permits are not valid for campus lots for Commencement. Public Parking Lots include:

For information on the wheelchair seating option, which has an accompanying parking permit, please refer to the commencement website and contact Commencement Accessibility Services (access@unc.edu) with any additional questions related to seating.

For ADA shuttle service on Sunday, please see campus shuttle services for:

Shuttles do not run from Kenan Stadium to the smaller ceremonies throughout campus.

On Sunday beginning noon and following the Ceremony at Kenan Stadium, ADA Parking for smaller ceremonies or receptions will be available in the un-reserved north campus lots on a first-come, first served basis for vehicles with ADA plates or placards or permits.

Taxi service, including Uber and Lyft are not recommended for patrons with accessibility needs due to the public safety and other operational concerns.

Taxi services (including Uber and Lyft):

Directions to Kenan Stadium from drop-off location: Use the bridge (7-minute walk) on level 4 of Bell Tower Deck to access elevators to ground level.

Certain parking areas on campus are not available for public parking and are reserved to accommodate disability parking requests and facilitate access to small department ceremonies. The following areas are permit-only parking:

  • Employees participating in Commencement Ceremony activities may present their UNC One Card to the monitor to access the Cobb or Bell Tower decks
  • Employees with or without permits or a UNC One Card may park in areas designated for Public Parking

Roads on campus may experience traffic delays approximately one and a half hours prior to ceremonies and one hour after each ceremony. Additionally, there will be several athletic events also taking place on campus. For operational and security reasons, some lots and roads will be restricted/closed.  Please plan accordingly.

Roads Closed for Through Traffic

Roads on campus may be blocked throughout the day to facilitate access and shuttle services. The following roads are impacted or restricted to bus traffic and reserved permit only parking areas:

Roads Closed for Through Traffic (5:45 a.m. – 1 p.m.)

  • Raleigh Street (Cameron to South Road)
  • Ridge Road
  • South Road
  • Stadium Drive

Traffic Alerts

Expect congestion on Raleigh Road as early as 7:30 a.m. To avoid traffic delays, use alternate routes to access campus or use park and ride lots located off campus and served by Carolina Livery. Recommended campus access via the southern entrances from US 15-501 and S. Columbia St.