Inside Iowa State
April 5, 1996
Share your parking ideas by April 20
by Anne Dolan
Attendance was light at two campus forums held last month to
discuss recommendations in a parking study completed this
winter. Discussion focused on two -- shuttle service and a
parking ramp -- of the four options presented by a consulting
firm in Southfield, Mich.
Dave Barr, Rich and Associates, said shuttle service from the Iowa State Center lots to central campus would have to be very efficient or employees wouldn't use it. He estimated a shuttle service, running during peak morning and late afternoon hours, would cost between $87,000 and $144,000 annually, depending on how long the service is extended into the evening. Although the shuttle service could follow the existing Cy-Ride Orange route, it would act purely as a shuttle between campus and the Iowa State Center (and not transport people between sites on central campus).
Ideally, Barr said, as many as 650 faculty and staff would park at the Iowa State Center and ride the shuttle to campus. The space freed up in campus lots could become hourly parking for visitors and students.
Kerry Dixon, a special projects coordinator in facilities planning, said no one will be forced to use a shuttle service.
Several in attendance noted that the Iowa State Center's location south of campus appeals little to those who live north of ISU. A shuttle service from north lots would be better for them, they said. Cathy Brown, a campus planner, said buildings are in the long-term plans for areas north of the railroad tracks.
The top ramp locations, according to the consultants, are south of Alumni Hall and along the north and west sides of the Armory. Barr said any ramp should combine permit and hourly parking. He estimated that a ramp used solely by permit holders would cost each of them about $100 a month.
Dixon said the ISU community needs to decide what level of service it wants -- and is willing to pay for.
Two copies of the Rich and Associates report are at the reserve desk in the library. Individuals who want to respond are asked to send comments by Saturday, April 20, to Kerry Dixon, General Services Building, e-mail: kdixon@iastate.edu.
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