Off-campus residential streets of the University District in Columbus — Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc service area
Columbus · University District

Towing in University District, Columbus

Off-campus rentals, permit-zone streets and August lease turnover, handled around the clock.

Call (740) 812-9489

The University District covers about 2.8 square miles between Fifth Avenue and Glen Echo Ravine, fenced in by the Olentangy River on the west and the railroad tracks on the east. Step off the Oval and it becomes a grid of converted houses and apartment blocks, with the densest student rentals east of High Street from 11th to 17th Avenue and pockets with more homeowners, such as Dennison Place and The Circles, farther south. Our calls here are cars that sat on the curb for weeks and will not crank, keys locked inside during a move, and landlords clearing their lots. Trucks leaving our Harrisburg Pike yard typically arrive in 20–40 minutes.

Local Guide: Towing Around the University District

Landmarks

  • South Campus Gateway — Mixed-use High Street complex completed in 2005 whose tenants include restaurants and the Gateway Film Center.
  • Dennison Place and The Circles — Residential areas west of High Street between Fifth and 11th Avenues with a higher share of homeowners than the student blocks.
  • Former Indianola Park — Amusement park that ran in the district from 1905 to 1937, drawing crowds of up to 10,000 to its coasters and pool.
  • First Big Bear store site — Big Bear opened its first supermarket at 386 W. Lane Ave., across from Ohio State, on February 15, 1934.
  • Pearl Alley — District alley that hosts the Pearl Alley Jam, a University District Organization community event.
  • Ohio Stadium — Horseshoe-shaped stadium at 411 Woody Hayes Drive that opened October 7, 1922.
  • Value City Arena — Arena inside the Jerome Schottenstein Center at 555 Borror Drive, opened in 1998 for Buckeye basketball and hockey.
  • Newport Music Hall — Rock club at 1722 N. High St. that opened in December 1921 as the State Theater.
  • Wexner Center for the Arts — Peter Eisenman and Richard Trott designed this contemporary arts center at 1871 N. High St., opened November 17, 1989.
  • Mirror Lake — Spring-fed campus pond whose restoration, started in 2015, also renovated nearby Pomerene Hall and Oxley Hall.
  • Iuka Park — A wooded 4.1-acre city park at 2057 Iuka Ave. in the ravine east of High Street.
  • Indianola Forest Historic District — Columbus Register district added in January 1987 between the north side of East Lane Avenue and East Frambes Avenue.

Schools

  • Indianola Junior High School — Howard Dwight Smith designed the 1929 building at 420 E. 19th Ave. for what is described as the first junior high school in the country.

Colleges

  • The Ohio State University — The main campus, built on the former Neil farm chosen in 1870, anchors the whole district.
  • University Hall — Rebuilt in 1976 as a copy of the 1873 original; it shares a 1970 National Register listing with Hayes Hall and Orton Hall.
  • William Oxley Thompson Memorial Library — Ohio State’s main library opened in January 1913 and finished a $108.7 million renovation in 2009.
  • Hale Hall — Built 1909–1911 at 154 W. 12th Ave. as the first student union at a state university.

Main Routes

  • North High Street — Splits the off-campus rental blocks on the east from the campus on the west.
  • Summit Street and North Fourth Street (US 23) — One-way pair that carries US 23 through the district east of High Street.
  • I-71 at 11th and 17th Avenues — Exits 110B and 111 lead directly into the off-campus neighborhood from the east.
  • State Route 315 — Freeway along the Olentangy with exits at King Avenue/Medical Center Drive and Lane Avenue.
  • Chittenden Avenue — East-west street that marks the northern edge of Weinland Park inside the district.
  • Woodruff Avenue — Marks the north edge of the Indianola Forest pocket between High Street and North Fourth Street.

Major Employers & Projects

  • Ohio State Wexner Medical Center — The university's medical center is one of the district's defining institutions.
  • Battelle — The research institute is listed among the district's home institutions alongside the university.
  • University District Organization special improvement district — Runs the district's SID services and move-out drop-off program from 2231 N. High St.

Call (740) 812-9489 · Request a tow now (SOS) · Get an online quote

Frequently asked questions

What route does your truck take up to the off-campus streets?

From the southwest side the driver usually runs State Route 315 north and leaves at Lane Avenue or at King Avenue and Medical Center Drive, then crosses campus toward High Street. For blocks near the east edge, I-71 has exits at 11th Avenue and 17th Avenue that drop straight into the rental grid. Summit Street and North Fourth Street form the one-way pair that carries US 23 through the district, so give the avenue number and say whether you are east or west of High. Stuck inside a campus garage or near the stadium on a Saturday? Our Ohio State campus page and game-day page cover those situations.

My car vanished from a street with permit or sweeping signs. Did you take it?

No. We do not ticket or tow for the city, and we never remove cars from public streets on our own. Parts of the district sit in city permit zones, and zones UDB and UDC offer no guest passes at all, so a visitor's car can be cited there. Street sweeping also runs from early April through the last week of October, and posted signs warn that parked cars may be ticketed or towed. A car the city removes goes to its impound lot; our impound lot guide explains the release steps, and once you have paperwork we can tow a car that will not run.

It is lease turnover week and my car will not start. Can you still get to me?

Yes, though the street looks different that week. Each summer the University District Organization runs free furniture and trash drop-off sites during the late-July to mid-August turnover, and dumpsters parked on the street come with temporary No Stopping signs around them. Tell dispatch if a roll-off or a moving truck is next to your car so the driver can plan where to stop. Most turnover calls are a battery drained over the summer or keys locked in while carrying boxes, and a jump start or door opening fixes them on the spot. A battery that tests bad can often be swapped at the curb.

What if my car quits on I-71 or SR-315 beside the district?

I-71 runs just east of the rental blocks and SR-315 hugs the Olentangy on the west, and neither leaves much room at the ramps. Coast to the right shoulder or up the next exit, switch on the flashers and wait belted in behind the wheel instead of walking along the traffic. Dial 911 first if the car is stranded in a travel lane or anyone is hurt. When you reach our dispatcher, name the freeway, your direction and the last exit, such as Fifth Avenue, 11th Avenue, 17th Avenue or Hudson Street on I-71.

Someone keeps parking in the spot behind my rental house. What can I do?

It depends on who controls the space. If the car sits on a public street or alley, only the Columbus Division of Police can order it moved, so call their non-emergency line rather than us. A spot in a landlord's lot or a private pad behind the house is different: once the owner posts towing signs that meet Ohio law, unauthorized cars can be removed, and we provide that private-property towing with photos and records for each vehicle. Tenants should ask the property manager to request the tow, because the authorization has to come from the owner or their agent.

Where can the car go after a University District tow, and how is the price set?

Your choice: a repair shop near campus, the dealer, a partner garage, your parents' driveway or somewhere farther away if you are heading home for break. When the shop cannot take it until the next morning, the car can wait at our Harrisburg Pike lot for the daily storage rate. Dispatch quotes the full amount from our rate card before anything is hooked up, and card or cash both work. You get an itemized invoice, which helps if a parent, an insurer or a roadside plan is covering the bill.

Nearby in Columbus

Services in University District

Roadside Towing & Recovery Inc (dba Columbus Roadside Towing).
Corporate office (private, no walk-ins): 3879 Regatta Ct, Lewis Center, OH 43035
Tow yard & impound lot: 1620 Harrisburg Pike, Columbus, OH 43223
(740) 812-9489 · chris@columbusroadsidetowing.com

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