September 28 , 2006
Members Present: Lori Bernard, Paul Bixby, Brendon Chastain, Forest Denger, Craig Edmonston, Reggie Houser, Jay Huneycutt, David Martinson, Bill Mock, Marilyn Rogers and Gary Smith . Also attending was Elaine Quinn, secretary.
Craig Edmonston moved to accept the minutes of the April 26th meeting. The motion was seconded and passed.
Since this was the first meeting of the year, members introduced themselves to the new committee members.
Report on Current Parking Status - Gary Smith
1. Some of the maintenance/construction work that has been done since the last meeting are: constructed the lot 38 expansion, this added 35 car and 5 motorcycle parking spaces; patched the southeast drive in lot 44; reconstructed lot 37 adding about 60 parking spaces and currently constructing lot 52, by Facilities Management and Printing Services.
2. The Stadium Drive Garage had some major maintenance completed this summer at a total cost of about $650,000.
3. At Harmon Avenue Parking Facility, the level 6 exit island was extended to provide better access to the exit equipment by customers. New longer range card readers have also been ordered and should be installed in the next few months.
4. Transit and Parking has a new Associate Director of Transit. Mike Seither has over 30 years experience in public transit operations.
5. The on-line permit sales and citation payment system became operational in August. Work is still in progress on the on-line appeal processing.
6. About 1/3 of all the parking lots were restripped over the summer.
7. Alpha Omicron Pi sorority construction in lot 34 has been delayed. The contract has not been finalized.
8. The Reid Express route was revised to help transport those living in the NW Quad and Reid Halls from the parking lots on Razorback Road. This route I now called the Maple Hill route.
9. Last spring an experimental fixed route and an additional day (Wednesday) was added to Safe Ride. This worked well so Safe Ride now runs from Wednesdays through Saturdays and has a fixed route bus that serves the city square, Dickson Street and the campus.
10. There is a new video display in the Garland Transit Facility which shows advertising.
11. Parking has been added to Meadow Street containing both Faculty/Staff and Student spaces.
Old Business
None Presented
New Business
1. Motorcycle Parking: Scott Lunsford has an All Area permit and recently purchased a motorcycle. The All Area permit is transferable to another vehicle but not to a motorcycle or scooter. He bought a motorcycle permit but feels that there is a lack of adequate motorcycle parking on campus. He is asking the committee to change the policy and let those with university decals be able to transfer them to motorcycles/scooters and park appropriately. Discussion continued on the concern of the increased number of scooters on campus. Scooters under 50cc can park at bike racks. The main concern is safety going in and out of academic building. Golf carts are also becoming a campus problem. Jay said some campuses have pockets on edge of parking lots for parking for motorcycles/scooters. Jay recommended the item be tabled until Gary can check with other universities and see how it can be integrated into the university transportation study. It was seconded and passed. A decision on Scott Lunsford’s request was also tabled until this information is gathered.
2. 24 Hour Enforcement: Reggie Houser requested that Parking be part of a collaborative effort with Housing and UAPD by enforcing the Resident Reserved areas on campus. By being on campus after hours and on weekends there would be more of a presence not only with enforcement but with safety and security. The three departments could work together. He suggested at first to try and enforce on Wednesdays through Saturdays since Safe Ride operates those nights.
3. Reserved Lot Parking Plan: Gary introduced a new idea for a reserved parking plan. There would be assigned parking lots for everyone so hunting for parking spaces would be eliminated. The plan is still being developed.
4. Lori Bernard brought up some concerns she had for the Stadium Drive Garage. She said cars are going way too fast in the facility and some vehicles are too long for the spaces creating problems trying to get around. She also commented that the transit waiting area was dirty.
5. Craig Edmonston would like to extend the meter hours for lot 67. This will be on next meeting’s agenda.
The meeting was adjourned.