Parking on Campus

5151 Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT

The below are allowed to park on the Fairfield Park Avenue Campus, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. when classes are in session.

• Commuter students with valid permit
• Faculty with a valid permit, who do not serve as a full-time staff person employed by the University
• Students who are assigned by lottery to park in front of or near their residence halls may park in the designated parking lot only with a valid permit

Monday through Friday from 8:30 p.m. to 11 p.m. and on weekends, the above restriction does not apply. However, a current parking permit is still required to park in any University-owned or leased parking lots or garages.

5401 Park Avenue, Fairfield, CT

The below are allowed to park in the Martire Center parking areas:

Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. when classes are in session.

• Commuter students with valid permit
• Faculty with valid permit, who do not serve as a full-time staff person employed by the University.

Monday through Friday from  8:30 to 11 p.m. and on weekends the above restriction is not in force. However, a current parking permit is still required to park on any University campus.

• Commuter and residential students must not park on any Bridgeport side streets for access to Martire. This is an important SHU community public relations objective.
• The Martire Center garage remains paid parking by subscription. To request a garage parking space, email ParkingMartire@sacredheart.edu to be placed on the waiting list.
• At the end of each academic year, those currently with a paid garage assignment will receive an email to determine if they wish to renew their subscription for the coming year.
• Do not park in the driveway leading to Jefferson Street or Park Avenue, as these areas are restricted for emergency vehicles access only. Also, do not park where public safety has placed orange traffic cones and no parking is permitted on grass areas at any time.
• There are (130) marked surface parking spaces located at this facility that are open on a first-come, first served basis for faculty and commuter students between 7 a.m. and 8:30 p.m. daily.
• If you arrive and don’t see an open parking space, you should immediately drive to the Park Avenue Campus entrance and park in the North parking lot along Jefferson Street and walk to the Martire Center through the rear campus exit using the Jefferson Street crosswalk.
• Public safety conducts parking counts in all campus lots at various time intervals and parking is available in the North lot daily. So save some time and use this location!
• Public safety is enforcing parking violations and vehicles are subject to being booted and towed. This is an official policy and notice of the restrictions and signage on site is not required for enforcement of improper parking in any driveway on campus or not parking in a marked legal space.
• There is no overnight parking in general parking lots without public safety authorization.

The first level of the South Garage is open and is reserved for those faculty and staff members who have purchased a permit for access to these parking spaces. The entrance to the first level is located across from the SHUPad mailroom.  

The second, third and fourth floors of the South Garage are available to commuter students (who have purchased a parking permit–required to park on campus), as well as faculty members. You can access the garage entrance from the faculty/commuter 2 parking lot with your ID card.    

There is no overnight parking permitted at any time on the Park Avenue Campus. The only exceptions are emergencies or students parked at their assigned on-campus residential halls who have a valid parking permit. For emergency situations, such as a disabled vehicle that will be left overnight, public safety dispatch must be notified.

• Parking in the Pioneer Village garage is restricted; only students with a specific permit can park there
• No overnight parking (excluding residential students with site-specific permit)

220 Jefferson St, Fairfield, CT

• Staff assigned parking
• Staff permit is required; parking is limited to the rear rows and main lot near the football field
• SHU public safety parking enforcement is authorized at Notre Dame Prep
• Shuttle service is provided Monday-Friday, 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. (stops include Notre Dame, Pitt Center, Curtis Hall and Academic Center HC wing)

• Staff and vendor employee assigned parking. Gate card access has been added to your SHU ID card
• This includes Chartwells, SSC and bookstore employees
• Vendor employees will use permits and stop at security gate house. Those scheduled for early hours can use the same on demand student overflow shuttle by calling 203-371-7995 upon arrival at West garage
• Faculty and adjuncts may also use parking at West Campus at their discretion
• Parking with shuttle service 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. (see details below)

West Campus garages have a height restriction of seven feet. No ladder racks or oversized vehicles are permitted in any garage facility. Please use exterior parking adjacent to each garage facility.

This is a paid garage restricted to faculty and staff.

• There are two shuttles operating on weekdays from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on a continuous loop
• Weekend hours: Saturday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m.; Sunday, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• All shuttles will follow the same route as described below:
  • West Campus loop: front of Edgerton Center to West Campus East Atrium

Construction update–effective July 22, 2024, until further notice: The construction project at the Center for Healthcare Education (CHE), located at 4000 Park Avenue, Bridgeport, will be entering a new phase that necessitates the closing of the upper (northside) parking lot to vehicle and foot traffic until further notice. To offset the loss of those 100 parking spaces, we are pleased to announce the reopening of our paid/reserved garage, along with the partial opening of our new parking garage, located at the southside of the CHE property. This will provide 84 spaces in our paid/reserved garage, along with approximately 145 spaces in the new garage.
Faculty, Staff, Students, Patients and Guests: Access to the parking garage is available via the driveway located on Park Avenue immediately south of the CHE facility. Signs will direct drivers to available parking and to lobby elevators. There will be a number of coned off spaces specifically reserved for clients and patients in need of parking near the building entrance. Please respect their needs and do not use those spaces.
Paid/Reserved Parking: Access to the paid/reserved parking garage is via the same Park Avenue entrance detailed above. Gate arm access will be reactivated by Monday morning necessitating swipe card access as in the past. Those who have been approved for paid/reserved parking will receive a separate email from the Parking Office notifying them of their access.
Monticello Lot: Parking will continue to be available in our Monticello lot; however, use of the sidewalk along Park Avenue will be required to access the front entrance of CHE as the north lot will be fenced for the construction.
Holy Trinity Church Parking: Limited parking will continue to be available in the Holy Trinity Church lot for faculty and staff only in the designated area; however, use of the sidewalk along Park Avenue will be required to access the front entrance of CHE as the north lot will be fenced for the construction.
Parking at Triumphant Christian Church will no longer be an option.
Shuttle Service: The shuttle stop location is tentatively planned for the same driveway used to access the parking garage.

The below are allowed to park at the Center for Healthcare Education:

Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. when classes are in session.

• Commuter students with valid permit
• Faculty with valid permit, who do not serve as a full-time staff person employed by the University

Monday through Friday from 8:30 to 11 p.m. and on weekends the above restriction is not in force. However, a digital parking permit is required to park on any University campus.

• There are two separate surface parking lots as shown below.
• Do not park in the front circular driveway or the lower lot driveway, as these areas are restricted for emergency vehicles access only. Also, do not park where public safety has placed orange traffic cones and no parking is permitted on grass areas at any time.
• Students in residential housing MUST use the CHE dedicated express shuttle from the Park Avenue Campus.
• CHE garage remains paid parking by subscription and is presently full. Email parkingCHCE@sacredheart.edu to be placed on the waiting list.
• At the end of each academic year, those currently with a paid garage assignment will receive an email to determine if they wish to renew their subscription for the coming year.

All University employees must have a digital parking permit. Upon starting employment, new employees should log into the online parking portal to enter their vehicle information and register for a permit. Staff is allowed to park in lots that are marked as staff lots.

Parking in a University-owned or leased facility is solely at your own risk. SHU is not responsible for incidental accident damage, vandalism to or theft of or from a vehicle.

Visit the parking appeals webpage to make an appeal.

All SHU community members (students, faculty & staff) are required to participate for security purposes if you drive a car to campus for your employment.

All community members annually by August 30 must log into the online parking portal and verify/update their parking information. This procedure provides an easy method for all that drive a vehicle to any University facility to change a vehicle and update all data for security purposes. We will be able to communicate by email with all specific parking groups by site location in the event of an emergency. On the parking portal, you will be required to provide vehicle info, registration plate number(s) and verify your decal or hang tag for security purposes and compliance with this policy.

Failure to verify your information annually by August 30 constitutes a violation of the University parking policy. Please complete this procedure to avoid receiving an invoice sent to your home address for non-compliance with this provision of the parking policy.

All permits issued through the parking portal should be paid using the portal.

Current parking ticket violations will be billed and monthly statements are available online. Online payment is accepted using the student accounts payment portal.

No large external (non-University sponsored) events will be scheduled on campus when classes are in session. Please refer to the academic calendar and verify the scheduling of any programs or events with your divisional vice president or respective dean. This policy will not work if it is not enforced; therefore there will be a heavy and continuous public safety presence in the lots and monitoring those who come on campus. Public safety will ticket and/or “boot” cars without up-to-date parking decals or hang tags. Booted vehicles are subject to towing at the owner’s expense daily after 11 p.m. if not approved in advance by public safety.

We recognize that some members of our community have state-authorized handicapped permits, and these limited spaces must be maintained for those who qualify. We are hereby instructing those employees to also display their SHU hang tag on the driver’s side of their dashboard for the security reasons previously stated. If a person with a state handicapped placard can’t find a designated handicapped space they may park in any open parking space.

Visitors are required to obtain a daily parking pass from the public safety security booth to park in any University parking lots. Public safety can’t guarantee a visitor will find an open space. Any large SHU-sponsored events must be coordinated with public safety allowing 14 days to plan for needed parking off-site and/or shuttle service. Please note that the sponsor of the event will need to cover any additional costs related to parking. The Curtis Hall lot will have 15 designated spaces marked and restricted for admissions guests only.