Hours before the Gophers opened their football season in early September, Katie Edmonston pulled up for a medical appointment at the M Health Fairview Clinics and Surgery Center and found the street parking she counted on already blocked off. She gets leukemia treatment there, and starting in mid-July 2026 that meant daily infusion appointments for 3 months.
Edmonston posted a TikTok asking why the closures start so early. She said the day she posted it, the game kicked off at 7 p.m., hours after her appointment. She has a disability, can't walk long distances, and uses handicap parking credentials, which let her park at city meters for free. When those meters are off-limits, her cheapest option is gone. Her medical bills already run about $800 a month, she said, and parking fees pile on top of that. "I mean, if you're going there every single day, it adds up," she said. She also said the hospital wouldn't validate her parking.
The closures are on purpose. Allen Henry, a media relations coordinator for the city of Minneapolis, said the university asks the city for permits that ban parking on both sides of Fulton Street Southeast, between Oak Street Southeast and Huron Boulevard Southeast, on game days. Clearing the curb opens up extra travel lanes for stadium traffic. Neither the U nor the city would say exactly what time the meter restrictions start on a game day.
The university said patients and visitors with appointments during weekday games pay a reduced $7 rate in the ramp. It also pointed to Fairview's valet service and said patients are encouraged to request it when they book.
For anyone with an appointment at 909 Fulton St. SE, the clinic's own parking page lays out the options. Valet runs from the main arrival plaza on Fulton Street from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, and you pay at a pay station in the first-floor lobby when you leave. The West Lot sits across from the main entrance. The Oak Street Ramp is a block north, and here's the catch: you enter it from Ontario Street, not Oak. The ramp offers a reduced rate through the CSC pay station and has dedicated ADA spaces. People with limited mobility are pointed to valet or the West Lot's designated spaces. Frequent visitors can buy a multi-use pass for valet or the West Lot. The page also notes that the metered spots around the building belong to the city, not M Health Fairview.
None of that helps much if your plan was free meter parking with an accessible credential. For a patient coming in every day, a $7 ramp fee on each game day adds up fast. A better fix would start with something simple: posting the time the closures begin.
