Members Present: Chris Allen, Forest Denger, Michael Landman, David Martinson, Bill Mock, Marilyn Rogers, Gary Smith and Susan Stiers. Also present was Elaine Quinn, secretary.
Bill Mock moved to approve the minutes of the November 28, 2007 meeting. The motion passed.
Report on Current Parking Status Gary Smith
1. GoLoco the ride sharing program is now official. Only UA IDs can access the UA GoLoco web site. The program designed to assist students and employees coordinate ridesharing. There is no liability issue to the University. The University will receive a report on the miles of rides shared and the CO2 savings.
2. Razorbike Program Regions Bank has 25 bicycles to donate to the program. To use the program one would go on-line and read/agree to the legal requirements. The lock combination is then provided to the customer. The bikes can be ridden around campus and locked up at bike racks. The program will also collect bikes that have been abandoned on campus.
3. Harmon Avenue Garage This summer Plexiglas enclosures will be installed around the elevator doors on the northeast elevator to keep the rain out. The height of the railing on level 9 will be increased. On level 6, the current entrance/exit will be changed to a two-lane entrance and a new two-lane exit will be constructed on the northwest corner.
4. Garland Avenue Garage ground breaking this summer. Lots 75 and 76 will be closed. We hope to expand lot 36 to the east, gaining about 80 parking spaces. This property has also been chosen as a possible site for a Child Development Research Center to be constructed in about two years. The new garage will contain 20,000 sq. ft. of retail space. A 35,000 sq. ft. bookstore will be constructed south of the garage.
5. Lot 34 this lot on Maple Street has closed for construction of the Alpha Omicron Pi Sorority. Faculty/Staff parking was added in lots 20, 24A and 38 in the past few years plus meters were added on Arkansas Avenue to help compensate for the loss of this lot.
6. Summer Lot Maintenance all of lot 44 will be crack sealed and seal coated this summer. A small sinkhole in lot 34 will be repaired. We are evaluating the cost to repair lot 53, at the West Avenue Annex, which will become metered after 5 pm on weekdays and all day on Saturday and Sunday.
7. Assigned Lot Plan the plan has been postponed another year. The lower priced permits would increase too significantly. More study needs to be done.
8. In April Parking will have new parking software installed. The office will be closed on March 31 and April 1 for staff training. Parking lots will still be patrolled during this time.
Old Business
Scooters Reggie has done more research on scooter parking. We are moving forward. The main issue right now is trying to develop scooter parking sites on campus. Riding scooters on sidewalks is a moving violation and a violation of state law. Areas east of the Science Engineering Building and the west side of the Student Union were suggested as possible sites. In the next 5 - 10 years all parking within the historic core will be gone. Gary said he hopes to have a couple of scooter parking pads ready by the end of August.
New Business
Parking Permit fee increase of 5% - The Board of Trustees will be meeting in March this year to consider fee increases instead of April so a proposal had to be sent before today. There were no suggested increases for moving violations or parking violations.
Parking Violation fee accumulation Prior to 1989, the violation fee increased after a violator received four tickets for the same violation. This was discontinued when citation billing was automated because the software could not handle this accumulation fee. The new software can. It was suggested to add $10 to the violation fee for the fourth and subsequent citations for the same violation in a fiscal year.
Meter Payment/Permit requirement in Stadium Drive Garage until 10 pm when the garage was first built, the plan was to require payment until 10 pm but the Union had undergone an expansion and, wanting to encourage participation in its activities, asked for open parking after 5 pm. Susan Stiers said charging after 5 pm would discourage off campus students from returning to campus for evening events. Most of the other committee members agreed. David Martinson said the public value may outweigh the revenue generated and suggested finding another way, maybe asking for some of the student activity fee.
Gary reminded members that debit cards may be purchased by departments to pay for guest parking in the Stadium Drive Garage.
ADA Parking Policy revision the current policy states that anyone with a doctors note can obtain a temporary ADA permit for up to 90 days and park in regular meters without paying the meter fee. The revision changes the time from 90 days to 7 days. That is sufficient time to obtain a state temporary or permanent ADA permit. Also ADA permits will no longer be permitted to park in regular meters without paying the meter fee. This change will become effective beginning July 1, 2008.
Wayfinding Kevin gave the committee a report on the new Wayfinding System. Cloud Gehshan Design Consultants, who worked on the Campus Transportation Plan, is developing the wayfinding plans. The wayfinding system will include signs directing visitors from the interstate into campus, directional signs from parking lots to on-campus destinations, pedestrian directional signs on the sidewalks, and building signs. There will also be map kiosks located around the campus core. It is hoped this wayfinding system will expand to all of Northwest Arkansas.
The meeting was adjourned.