A Guide To Downtown Parking

UPDATED: July 2025 by Laeba Haider

Whether you’re a Social Science and Humanities or an Education student, a north campus student coming downtown for an event or a psych study or even just a person who wants to explore downtown, the article has got you on all the places to park near our downtown campuses. 

Street Parking 

You can literally park on most of the streets downtown. However, there are parking meters and you would have to pay. I would say if you are coming down for a lecture then you should be good-paying for three hours especially if your class may finish early. 

The hourly rate for the street meters is $1.25/hr and check the street signs on how long you can extend your parking in that spot. As some spots only allow you to stay there for 2, 5 and even 10hrs. So if you’re going to a lecture make sure not to park in the 2-hour spots. Good news: Parking is free on weekends and holidays.

Below you can find some pictures showing street parking spots next to our campus 

61 Charles St 

Bruce Street 

 King Street (Front of Regent Theatre) 

 Durham Regional Road (Front of Faculty of Education Building) 

Neighbourhood 

There are neighbourhoods that may have spots for you to park in. However, most of them have no parking signs on the side of the roads. You have to be very cautious when parking in Neighbourhoods to look out for no parking signs and maybe even residents who don’t appreciate you parking there. Below are a couple of streets you can park on. 

Both Bruce street and Gliddon Avenue do not have a no-parking sign on one side of the street, you can get here by turning left from Charles street to Bruce street and driving further down the street. 

Parking Lots 

There are plenty of parking lots in Downtown Oshawa you can park at, but I would usually advise against parking in them as they are a lot more expensive than street parking and not worth it if you’re not coming down every day to downtown or have valuables in your car. But if you would like to park there, there's a couple next to our downtown campus. 

King Street Parking Lot (next to Regent Theatre) 

Clinic Parking Lot (Right before 61 Charles street). Sometimes if they have a lot of patients this will be closed to non-patients. 

Parking Garages & City Lots

The City of Oshawa has a bunch of other lots and garages. They’re still more expensive than street parking but super convenient.

Learn more

OTU Parking Passes

If you're an Ontario Tech student, here’s how school parking works:

• You can try to register for a Charles Hall parking pass, but they’re limited and first-come, first-served.

• All university parking is managed by third parties like IPASS, so the process depends on the lot.

For questions: email parking@dc-ot.ca

Monthly Passes (From City of Oshawa)

If you’re parking downtown every day, a monthly pass might save you some cash.

• Garage 1, 2, or 3: $87/month + tax

• Lot 16 or 19: $73/month + tax

You can grab one in person at Service Oshawa (50 Centre St. S.) during business hours.

Well, there’s your guide to downtown parking, there are many places to explore here so if you’re from the north campus come on down and check it out! 

Got questions?
📧 parking@dc-ot.ca
📞 City of Oshawa: 905-436-3311