heartland 2050 winter summit enhancing transportation demand management

PRIMARY INVESTIGATORS: DRS. ANGELA EIKENBERRY & CRAIG

MAHERRESEARCH ASSISTANTS:

FARRAH GRANT AND JUNGHACK KIM

January 2015

ENHANCING TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT OPTIONS AT THE

UNIVERSITY OF NEBRASKA AT OMAHA

The Costs, Benefits and Challenges of Implementation

“A university is a diverse community held together by common complaints about

parking.” – Clark Kerr, former chancellor of University of California (Toor and

Havlick, 2004)

WHAT IS TDM?Aims to decrease the percentage of commuters who travel by single occupancy vehicles (SOVs) and/or vehicle miles traveled by commuters who use SOVs (Winters, 2000)

Alternatives to SOV driving include: biking, walking, public transit, carpooling, vanpooling, and telecommuting

WHY USE TDM?

By 2020-21, UNO will be faced with a shortage of 1,607 spaces if no efforts are made to shift SOV users to other modes (UNO’s Transportation/Parking Master Plan )

PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What has UNO done in relation to TDM and how does it compare to peer and other universities? What strategies have been implemented and why?How is TDM administered and financed?What has been successful and what are the challenges?

PRIMARY RESEARCH QUESTIONS

What are the direct and indirect costs of supporting various modes of transportation at UNO? What is the return on investment of each mode?

What strategies and priorities should UNO consider in supporting sustainable transportation options?

METHODOLOGY InterviewsKey stakeholders on campusRepresentatives of designated, aspirational and local peers

Surveys481 faculty/staff/administrators and 540 students responded as part of Sustainability Master Plan (SMP)

Secondary data collection

TDM AT UNO AND PEER UNIVERSITIES

A multi-pronged approach to TDM is being pursued by most of UNO’s university peers and to some degree by UNO. The more advanced peers do so in a planned and holistic manner and in partnership across campus and with partners outside of campus.

TDM AT UNO AND PEER UNIVERSITIES Approaches that silo parking and transportation from facilities/planning make it difficult or impossible to take a more comprehensive approach to TDM.

Leadership from the top can make all the difference in implementing TDM. One person in a key position can also be a major roadblock to implementing TDM.

MODE SHARE AT UNO 2014 survey data: 67% of UNO students drove alone to campus

Higher proportion as compared to peers (UC Denver 60% and Portland State 23%)

83.9% of faculty/staff drove alone to campus Only UNMC was higher (87.3%)

10% of UNO students took transit (compared to 45% at PSU)

2.9% of UNO students biked (compared to 15.9% at UC Boulder)

COST ESTIMATION

Costs Associated With ParkingConstructionOperating and MaintenanceOpportunity/Land CostsShuttle Service

COST COMPARISON PER MONTHParkingSurface Lot $204,266 to

$319,970 Parking Garage $282,253 to

$367,424

Total Costs $486,519 to $687,394

Sustainable TransportationMavRide $13,233Zimride $1,208Bicycling University $9,519 Individual $29.16Guaranteed Ride Home

$630.42

Lost Parking Revenue $67,494 to $84,165

Total Costs $92,113 to $108,784* These estimates are based largely on work done by Verdis (2013) and UNO’s Parking/Transportation Master plan (2011)

Based on the additional demand for 1,607 stalls

CALCULATING BENEFITS

The benefits of sustainable transportation modes are divided into four sections: FiscalHealthEnvironmentCommunity

Each benefit is derived from the premise that the anticipated 1,607 parking spaces would not need to be built

COST-BENEFIT ANALYSIS

Investing in sustainable transportation options is cost effective compared to investing in SOV parking.

At minimum, benefits of multi-modal options relative to costs are more than 6 to 1.Ratios range from a low of 6.08 to a high of 7.67

RECOMMENDATIONS & RESULTS

Modify the parking fee model to better capture UNO’s associated costs:Monthly parking lot fee is $24.99, whereas the actual cost is between $176 and $229 per month.

Monthly parking surface pass at UNO is $20, whereas the associated cost is between $127 and $199 per month.

The largest return on investment appears to be to greatest for the MavRide program•Spring 2016, ALL students and faculty/staff may use their MavCARD to ride for free

Zimride and Guaranteed Ride Home program are now operating as well

RECOMMENDATIONS & RESULTS

The most effective strategy is a multi-pronged approach to TDM.

Work collaboratively with Metro Transit, the City of Omaha and the Metro Area Planning Agency (MAPA) to promote TDM and a complete streets policy locally and regionally.

RECOMMENDATIONS & RESULTS

FINAL THOUGHTS UNO’s parking “problem” is no more severe than what you find at other urban universities.

Given the proportion of SOV use at UNO compared to other universities, there is much room for improvement.

QUESTIONS?

Research funded by theUNO Center for Urban Sustainability