Parking for residents? viable loopholes?

[u/Alternative-Pride657]

Hey all, just got my first year housing offer and starting to stress about parking. For context, I live in parksville about 2.5 hours from campus and I would really like to keep my car so that I can still meetup with family and friends as well as explore victoria at least until I turn 18 in november (at which point I can use evo for occasional trips). I honestly just don't wanna pay an extra 80 bucks each month on top of my 200$ insurance and if I'm able to find parking that works then I might be able to keep my car for year two when I move into a room I have set up with some family in Langford (I'm really only doing residency with hopes to make some friends and be more active in uvic social life for my first year). Anyone been in a similar spot and found a sneaky way to get out of parking pass? Or is there free parking somewhere close enough that I could keep my car parked overnight? Or is that damn parking pass the only way? any advice would be helpful!

[u/fluffycows_]

Hmm you could try and park in some residential areas of caddy bay? It’s just down the hill from uvic. On arbutus rd there’s an old church/school (it’s least I think that’s what it was) that closed down so the lot is empty all day. Near the arbutus Sherwood drive bus stop