Parking and loading permits

Beginning with Plano AsiaFest 2023, the parking and loading permits system has been overhauled to improve festivalgoers' experience and comply with the Plano Police Department's requirements.

What are permits for?

Permits are used for accessing controlled access parking lots.

The parking lot between Haggard Park and the Downtown Plano DART station is a controlled access parking lot strictly reserved for vehicles holding a valid parking or loading permit issued by Plano AsiaFest. The new permits system is crucial for a safe and well-functioning festival.

All other city parking lots don't require a permit and you can park for free in them. You can find info on those at the following page: How to go to Plano AsiaFest.

What are the different kinds of permits?

Sponsor parking permit — for sponsors to park at the festival.
Vendor loading permit — for vendors to load and unload their items. Unless otherwise specified, only 15 minutes is permitted and the vehicle's hazards must be on at all times.
Performer loading permit — for performers to quickly load and unload. Unless otherwise specified, only 15 minutes is permitted and the vehicle's hazards must be on at all times.
City of Plano personnel parking permit — for the mayor, city council members, and on-duty police and emergency services
Accessible permit — for festival attendees who have a disabled license plate or placard on/in their vehicle issued by the State of Texas or the appropriate authority that issues the vehicle's license plate.

What is the difference between a parking and a loading permit?

Loading permits allow for loading and unloading only for the duration of time specified on your loading permit.

During loading and unloading, your hazards (flashing lights) MUST be on. Failure to do so may result in your vehicle being fined, immobilized with a boot, or towed.

Parking permits allow for the vehicle to remain fully parked in the lot without keeping the vehicle's hazards flashing.

How do I request a parking or loading permit?

With the exception of accessible permits, parking and loading permits must be requested ahead of time on our website. If you are eligible for a parking or loading permit, you will be notified by email or phone by festival organizers.

When you are requesting your parking or loading permit, you must agree to the terms of the permit, or else you will not be issued a permit. Failure to abide by the permit terms may result in criminal and/or civil penalities.

As of 2023, all parking and loading permits are assigned to vehicle license plates in our centralized license plate database. This is to prevent unlawful transfers or reproduction/forging of permits.

How do I enter the Haggard Park parking lot with a permit?

Do not attempt to right turn from westbound 15th Street (i.e. coming from the east) into the parking lot. All vehicles attempting a right turn, regardless of whether they are authorized or not, will be rejected by our parking lot attendants.
You may left turn into the parking lot from eastbound 15th Street (i.e. coming from the west; coming from US 75).

Parking enforcement

A valid parking permit must be displayed on the dashboard. Failure to do so may result in last resort actions such as:

A fine assessed by either the festival or the police;
Booting of your car; or
Towing of your car.

Plano AsiaFest is not responsible for vehicles immobilized or towed away due to failure to comply with the festival's parking regulations.

Frequently asked questions

If I am just attending Plano AsiaFest as a festivalgoer, does any of this apply to me?: If you need an accessible parking permit, please reach out to us for a parking permit. Otherwise, these requirements do not pertain to you, and you're eligible to park at any other City of Plano parking lot, which you can find more information about on How to go to Plano AsiaFest.

Can I share or transfer my parking permit with anyone else?: No, you may not do so. This is strictly prohibited. Parking spaces are limited and permits have been issued with a limitation on parking spaces in mind. Only Plano AsiaFest parking personnel are permitted to create, reassign, or deactivate parking permits. The unauthorized transfer, sale, or bartering of parking permits will result in the immediate cancelation of the parking permit, as well as possible criminal/civil penalties assessed against the violator for perpetrating fraud.; Parking permits feature security features designed to prevent unlawful reproduction, forgery, and transfer of permits, including an intricate design and QR codes uniquely generated for your vehicle.

What if I don't bring my parking or loading permit on the day of the festival?: You will not be allowed to enter the parking lot until you have a permit. You will be instructed to park at alternative parking lots intended for the general public.

Is a digital copy of a permit allowed?: No, a physical copy must be brought because it needs to be kept on your vehicle's dashboard while your vehicle is inside the parking lot.

Why has this new system been introduced?

Our previous system did not feature parking permits extensively. Vendors and performers were told to only come to load/unload without formal parking permits. Only sponsors were issued permits.

This resulted in several problems:

Confusion arose regarding who was allowed to park and who wasn't allowed to park. Many volunteers and vendors were not allowed to enter the parking lot but tried to do so, causing traffic problems.
15th Street became very congested and traffic flow problems arose.
Vehicles authorized to enter the parking lot were unable to enter in a timely fashion because verification took a long time per vehicle.
Directions given to unauthorized vehicles to park elsewhere may have been unclear or difficult for the driver to remember/handle in a short period of time.
No signage existed for traffic directions.
Vehicles attempting to enter the parking lot from the east would attempt to right turn, but while our personnel are verifying their parking status, other vehicles on 15th Street would be backed up all the way to the DART railroad tracks, posing an extreme safety hazard to vehicles driving on 15th Street.
Lastly, aggressive drivers failing to comply with directions would threaten the safety of our festival personnel.
The Plano Police Department shuts down access to the parking lot completely when congestion becomes too severe and causes a safety issue.

The new system has been introduced to solve these problems by doing the following:

Creating a unified permit system that reduces ambiguity for drivers and parking enforcement alike.
Introducing a single permit design with security features.
Instituting a new straightforward rule: no permit, no entry.
Allowing for fast verification of valid permits and quick triaging of unauthorized vehicles.
Ensuring permits are not duplicated or transferred by assigning permits to specific license plates.
Adding new traffic signs at the parking lot to make the parking situation clear.

Terms and conditions

I understand that a valid parking permit must be displayed on the dashboard. Failure to do so may result in last resort actions such as a fine assessed on me by either the festival or the police, the booting of my car, or the towing of my car. I furthermore agree that Plano AsiaFest is not responsible for vehicles immobilized or towed away due to failure to comply with the festival's parking regulations.

I understand that sharing or transferring my permit is strictly prohibited because parking spaces are limited and permits have been issued with a limitation on parking spaces in mind. I also understand that only Plano AsiaFest parking personnel are permitted to create, reassign, or deactivate parking permits. I furthermore understand that the unauthorized transfer, sale, or bartering of parking permits will result in the immediate cancellation of the parking permit, as well as possible criminal/civil penalties assessed against the violator for perpetrating fraud.

I understand that Plano AsiaFest is serious about preventing the unauthorized sharing and transfer of parking permits. I freely submit my vehicle information above and agree to allow Plano AsiaFest to store this information and use their parking permit system to verify my parking permit. I furthermore understand that it will be very easy for Plano AsiaFest to detect fake parking permits.

I understand that my parking permit will contain a QR code on it. I furthermore understand that obscuring this QR code will result in the permit being unreadable and therefore invalid. I also understand that the copying of this QR code is strictly prohibited and agree that I will not attempt to do so, or it will be easily detectible by our permit validation system.

I understand that if I don't bring my parking or loading permit on the day of the festival, I will not be allowed to enter the parking lot until I have a physical permit, and I will be instructed to park at alternative parking lots intended for the general public.

I understand that showing a digital copy of my permit will not suffice, and I understand that a physical copy must be printed and brought because it needs to be kept on my vehicle's dashboard while my vehicle is inside the parking lot.

I agree that the vehicle license plate I am about to submit may be stored in Plano AsiaFest's centralized parking permits database in order to assign parking and loading permits, check for proper access when entering the parking lot, and prevent unlawful transfers or reproduction/forging of permits.