Transportation
It takes about five minutes to drive from the Towne Parc apartment complex to the southern edge of the University of Florida campus. You may need a few extra minutes to reach your desired parking garage and a bit more time to walk or ride to your final campus destination.
From the apartment complex, take SW 29 Place to SW 23rd Terrace, and then turn onto SW Archer Road. This street travels along the southern edge of campus and will take you to many UF medical facilities, including the Emerging Pathogens Center, the UF Health Cancer Center, the UF Health Medical Plaza and UF Pediatric Specialists.
Archer Road will also lead you to a variety of restaurants and shopping centers as well as the Gainesville Fire Department. You can turn north on any road to cut through campus. For instance, making a left onto Archer and then a right onto Surge Area Drive allows you to take Natural Area Drive to Bledsoe Drive, reaching one of the campus park and ride lots.
It takes about an hour to reach Archer Road on foot from Towne Parc, and the bike ride takes about 15 minutes without traffic. You can expect it to take up to another 30 minutes to reach your final campus destination on foot, but most areas of campus are less than a 30-minute bike ride away.
If you prefer to use public transportation, the closest RTS bus stop is less than half a mile away on SW 23rd Terrace. This stop connects with six bus routes, which will take you to most parts of Gainesville if you make the right connections. Taking the route 35 bus toward Reitz Union will lead you through the southern half of campus to Rawlings Hall in under 15 minutes. This area of campus is home to the School of Construction, the Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences and the IFAS Food and Resource Economics Department. You can also take a route 9 bus to Turlington Hall, which will place you further northeast on campus.
Things Nearby
You’ll find Towne Parc just west of Bivens Arm Lake and within two miles of many Gainesville parks and green spaces. Forest Park is a recreational area that allows off-leash pets, and it’s a short drive or bus ride to the northwest. Dogwood Park is about four miles to the southwest, and Bivens Arm Nature Park is about a five-minute drive to the east. This area is also home to the expansive Sweetwater Wetlands Park. You can travel to Archer Road for access to a variety of restaurants and retail stores.