Parking and Transportation

Parking at SMU

For the business sessions, SMU will provide some parking on campus (available for a daily fee), but it may not be enough to meet demand. We strongly encourage attendees to consider carpooling, public transportation, or rideshare services. Please use this form to register for a parking pass. The deadline for registration is May 29 or when all the passes have been claimed...

Please keep in mind that much of the on-street parking in the neighborhoods surrounding SMU is limited to those with residential permits.

Mockingbird Station (5465 E. Mockingbird Ln) provides free parking, but it’s still 1.2 miles from McFarlin Auditorium. See below for information about a shuttle service from the station.

Hilltop Plaza Parking Structure

We have secured 150 parking spaces at the privately-operated Hilltop Plaza Parking Structure, located at 3423 Daniel Avenue, Dallas, TX 75205, approximately 0.3 miles from McFarlin Auditorium, at a rate of $20 per day. Please note that this lot operates differently from the SMU lots due to its automated gate and ticketing system:
1) Take a ticket when entering the parking structure.
2) Bring your ticket to the conference registration area in the McFarlin Lobby to receive a validation sticker.
3) Pay the $20 fee directly at the gate when exiting the lot using the machine.

Shuttles

SMU-branded shuttles will operate between the following locations and McFarlin Auditorium from 6:30 am to 9 am and 4 pm to 6 pm on Monday and Tuesday.

• Beeman Hotel (6070 North Central Expressway)
• Doubletree Campbell Center (8250 N Central Expressway)
• Hilton Dallas/Park Cities (5954 Luther Lane)
• SMU Mustang Parking Center (6001 Bush Ave)
• Mockingbird Station (3465 E. Mockingbird Ln)

The drop-off and pick-up area will be along Boaz Lane near the main entrance to McFarlin Auditorium.

Lovers Lane UMC Carpool Lot

There is an informal carpool lot available in Lovers Lane UMC’s remote parking lot across a creek to the east of the church near the intersection of Meadowbrook Dr. and Northwest Highway. The entrance is off Meadowbrook Drive. (Please do not park in their main lots.) You may make arrangements to meet a group of people and combine into fewer vehicles to drive to SMU’s campus, which is about 3.5 miles southeast of the carpool lot.

Public Transportation

There are several ways to access McFarlin Memorial Auditorium and SMU using public transportation. Mockingbird Station is the closest rail station, served by the Blue, Orange, and Red light rail lines (System Map). Once at Mockingbird Station (Station Map), there are a couple options to navigate to McFarlin Auditorium, which is 1.2 miles across campus. First, if the weather is nice and you’re feeling ambitious before a long day of sitting, you can walk across the campus. Second, SMU operates a shuttle service from the station: the 440 SMU Express Red Shuttle. The busses operate about every 20 minutes. Keep in mind, however, that capacity is limited, so you may want to arrive early. In a pinch, a rideshare service may be a suitable option for the final connection.

Disabled Placard Parking

We have been allotted only three spaces immediately adjacent to McFarlin Auditorium for those with disabled parking placards. We ask that these be reserved for those with the highest level of need. If you need special accommodation, please email ac@htcumc.org , and we’ll try to identify a solution. There are also reserved spaces in Mockingbird Station. The 440 SMU Express Red Shuttle is accessible.