I’m trying to catch up on some Google Reader RSS feed reading this evening (more final project reading and grading tomorrow), and I came across this site, which shows real time availability of parking spots in lots in downtown Ann Arbor. I found this via the blog TheOrangeSlayedTheRake.
Now, this works because these are all pay lots, and Republic Parking is making money/has the resources to make something like this work. But if there was a way to make something like this work at EMU, it’d be cool….
LOL Parking….would you be surprised if I said we actually have enough parking at EMU even at the peak times of the day? DPS has TONS of data to support that statement!
The trick is that the parking is in the North Lots. I never have an issue of finding a parking spot on campus…WHY I park in the North Lots.
If people would be willing to walk just a few more feet (by parking in the North Lots) they would always find parking….just people want to park very close to the building they need to go into.
If we wanted to fix the “close” parking issue we would have the building parking decks….and I sure the faculty would think that is $$ well spent!
They actually do surveys to show the availability of parking lots at different times. Take a look at the documents in http://www.emich.edu/studentorgs/studentgov/documents/parking/
Nah, I’m talking about “live” updates on available parking right now. Probably impossible to do with the set-up we have, but it’d be cool nonetheless.
I have over the years a reached a certain peace with the parking issues on campus, personally. I wish they would do a better job of enforcing parking rules, but I think that’s actually improved in the last few years. I think we probably could use another parking deck, and I think between the current parking deck and the old field house would be a good spot, as would the “lower lot” (what my grad students call “rock star parking” since it is so sought-after) by Pray-Harrold would be good too. Maybe they can build that in to the costs/plans for redoing Pray-Harrold Hall. So I do think we could use more parking on campus that is actually close to where people want to park, instead of the north lot or wherever.
Still, I think cbylone is mostly right: as long as you plan ahead of time to walk about 5-10 minutes, you almost never have a problem. I live within slightly longer walking distance (about 15-20 minutes from my door to Pray-Harrold), and there are no parking restrictions on my street. So, as long as someone planned ahead a bit, there would be no reason why they’d ever have to hunt for parking or even buy a parking pass.
The problem comes though for folks who need to park close for a variety of different reasons, and also for parking for night classes and/or weather. Given some of the petty crime on campus and the nastiness of Michigan weather frequently enough, I’m not sure I’d want to park in the north lot if I didn’t get out of class until 9:40, let alone on a neighborhood street a mile or so from campus.
I’m on the parking committee, and we’ve discussed many of these issues. Here are some things to think about:
* first, thanks to cbylone for mentioning/promoting the North Lot. Believe it or not, many students (and some faculty/staff?) don’t know about it. So, at the start of Fall, tell your students/classmates about it. I had my Math 110 classes do a study, and they found that on average it takes 8 minutes or so to walk from the card-reader near Huron St. to Pray-Harrold. Also, the average time from McKenny pay lot to Pray-Harrold was again about 8 minutes.
* creating a new surface-level parking lot costs about $5,000 per parking space.
* building a new parking structure costs at least $20,000/space, possibly $30,000
(these are general figures, not specialized to EMU)
So, is the extra convenience of being closer worth the expenditure?
* A few things hamper live updates on parking availability:
– people parking over the line, taking up two spots. Why not ticket them? They will often say that when they parked, the car next to them had already done it, so they were forced to follow suit.
– Suppose a lot has 100 spots, with 5 of them being handicapped. It starts out empty. The gate counts 100 cars go in. Then 3 cars leave. Are there now 3 spots left in the lot? Maybe, or maybe those 3 were from the handicapped spots. Should you advertise on the web that the lot is under its capacity?
– snowbanks sometimes block spots
* Of course the fear of crime is an issue. That’s why we have the SEEUS escort service. They have added a lot more student employees recently, so give them a call; they will come to your building and walk you to the parking lot. Tell your friends, neighbors, colleagues, and classmates! http://www.emich.edu/publicsafety/seeus.htm
They have not yet mastered control over the weather, though.
* Perhaps we could have a “live updates” page just for North Lot. All it would say is
“# of open spots: oodles.”
A neat idea for sure. I think to be of any real use you’d have to have an iphone or definitely a web enabled phone of some type otherwise the info you got when you left home is inaccurate.
I’ve always been in favor of putting a parking structure where Ford Lot is!
I get the whole North Lot argument, but it really is more than a “few feet” It will add a good 15-20 min to your walk. If you plan ahead for that and dress appropriately in the winter it’s a good option.
Two comments and one question:
If any of you are not aware, there is free city-owned parallel parking on the southern curb of St. John near Best Hall.
Andrew Ross: I agree with all of what you say except for one point. I disagree about ticketing people who park over the line and take two spots. If one can’t park legally he shouldn’t park, no matter what the reason. People who do so are violating the law and should be ticketed and/or towed.
And can anyone tell me what the status is of on street parking on east circle drive in front of Alexander Hall? There are no “No Parking” signs along the northern curb and the curbs are not painted yellow. In Michigan, the standard is that if there are no signs and if the curb is not painted yellow, parking is legal, yet I never see anyone parked there. Is there a university ordinance to the contrary?