Office of Student Life

Willie J. Young, Sr. Off-Campus and Commuter
Student Engagement

City Resources

Experience Columbus

Don’t just live in Columbus, experience it! Experience Columbus is a city effort to make sure everyone knows all that Columbus has to offer and is the leading force in creating and revealing the best of the Columbus experience to the world. View their website to see all the events, attractions, shopping, dining, and more that Columbus has to offer you!

City Parking Permits

Some property managers charge a monthly or annual fee for off-street parking. If your property manager does not provide parking spaces you may need to park your car on the street. Certain streets require a City Parking Permit, while others offer free parking.

If you need additional information, contact the Parking Violations Complex at 614-645-6400 or visit the City's Parking website.

Check out recent updates to neighborhood permit parking zones.

Columbus 311 Service Center

The City of Columbus Service Center provides a way for you, the resident, to submit a request for city services. The Service Center is the single point of contact for requesting all non-emergency City services and is available to residents, city businesses and visitors. If you have any questions or comments about city services, or if you want to submit a complaint or concern to the City of Columbus, visit go.osu.edu/311 or call 614-645-3111.

Street Sweeping

The City of Columbus provides street sweeping to many neighborhoods in the University area.  You could get a parking ticket if your car is parked on the street during street sweeping. For street sweeping information, including dates, times and areas, look at this PDF. Please contact the Columbus Department of Public Service for further information at (614)645-3111, or find information on their website here.

Trash and Recycling Collection

The City of Columbus provides trash and recycling collection service to many University area neighborhoods. Find your collection day here.  You can sign up for recycling collection reminders by visiting RecyColumbus.  If your property manager does not provide recycling, take your recycling to a nearby drop-off location.

Trash must be bagged and tied before you place it in your trash container. This prevents litter and rodents and is required by Columbus City Code. Trash outside your trash container will not be collected. Recycling should be placed in the blue recycling containers. Your blue recycling container will not be collected if you place non-recyclable trash in your blue container. The City of Columbus has an interactive search tool, called the Waste Wizard, to lookup if certain disposable items are recyclable. Bulk trash is collected upon request only.

For more information, resources, and frequently asked questions on recycling in the on and off-campus areas, visit the Facilities Operations and Development webpage.

If you have bulk trash that does not fit in your trash container, call the City's 311 Service Center at 614-645-3111 or check out the "My Columbus" mobile app to schedule a pick-up of bulk items. The best option for disposing of large items in good condition is to give them to a friend or charitable organization. Contact Off-Campus and Commuter Student Services if you would like to donate clothes, furniture or large items.

Be a good neighbor, properly store trash and recycling containers during the week.

Football Saturday Parking Restrictions

Some streets in the University area prohibit parking on football Saturdays (home football games).  Check street signs before parking. Here are some resources offering insight on parking for home football games:

  • CampusParc offers specific lots and garages available for customer parking.
  • The Ohio State Athletics Department has maps and information ready to go!

COTA 

Taking Online Classes Only But Still Need COTA Access?

Columbus campus students can opt-in to purchase a semester-long unlimited ride pass for $13.50. To opt-in, visit COTA’s Customer Experience Center located at 33 N. High St. Options are available for students who need transportation to COTA's Experience Center to purchase the pass.

Visit COTA's page for Ohio State students to find more information about the Columbus transit system, including maps and real-time tracking. 

  • Routes that service the Ohio State Columbus campus: 1, 2, 8, 22, 31, and NightOWL

New Sanitization Practices (Here is a link to a video)

Because mobility is essential to our lives, we are going the extra mile to protect you with daily sanitization procedures that exceed industry standards using virus-killing disinfectants and the cutting-edge technology of long-lasting antimicrobial coatings. This innovative approach is applied to each transit vehicle through spraying, fogging and intensely cleaning every surface to allow us to keep moving forward together.

Service

Most current transit schedules can be found at https://www.cota.com/major-service-change-announcements/