TRUSTEES HEAR PLAN FOR PARKING, SEEK DESIGN AND BIDS COLUMBUS -- The Ohio State University Board of Trustees on Friday (5/1) heard a report on a five-year master plan to improve parking on the Columbus campus. Trustees also authorized the university to hire architects and engineers for building projects and seek construction bids. Trustees receive update on master plan for parking Trustees heard a first reading of a consulting firm's master plan for traffic and parking. After reviewing the plan for a month, trustees will be asked to approve it, along with its recommendations for parking fee increases (see tables below), at the June meeting. The fee increases would be used to fund additional campus bus service, improve maintenance of buses and garages, make safety improvements and develop plans for a parking garage in the northern section of the academic core area. Ultimately, the plan recommends two new garages, with a total of 3,000 additional spaces. The second is recommended for the Health Sciences area, but a separate study will be conducted first to determine the exact needs of that unique area, said Sarah Blouch, director of transportation and parking services. In the medical area, the constant influx of patients, the urgent needs of doctors and the various shifts of medical staff pose special challenges, she said. In the academic core area, students would benefit from the additional allocation of 1,000 spaces, and visitors would benefit from 950 designated spaces. There would be 550 new A permit spaces and 650 new B permit spaces, but those users also would benefit from the reduced visitor demand. Expanded bus service will facilitate movement on campus, with a circulator route in the core academic area for students and to make work-related intracampus travel easier for faculty and staff. The core circulator route also will have the added benefit of reducing vehicular movement between north and south campus. Other transit improvements would provide more direct bus service from west campus to south campus, and from the Jerome Schottenstein Center to the academic core. The plan calls for increases of $4.75 per month for an A permit, $3.17 per month for a B permit and $1.33 per month for a C student permit. There would be a decrease in the short-term hourly rate for visitors to the campus, but a slight increase in long-term hourly parking fees to increase turnover of parking spaces. Rates for patients in the medical center area will be looked at separately. Students would pay $99 a year to park in the central campus area, but only $24 a year to park in the remote lots on west campus and take a bus to the central campus. Rates for the west campus lots for students, faculty and staff will be fixed at 25 percent of the rate for central campus, which represents decreases of about a third for students and more than 50 percent for faculty and staff. The plan recommends that fees for faculty, staff and students continue to increase for the duration of the five-year plan, but trustees would have to approve each hike after reviewing proposals for the use of the revenue. At its height after five years, the most a permit-holder would pay to park is $1.80 a day. "During the last decade especially, demands on transportation and parking services have greatly increased at the Columbus campus," Blouch said. "New capital projects and growth in the number and types of educational and related services have presented challenges in fostering effective and efficient transportation on campus and in providing parking." The consultants, Sasaki Associates Inc. of Boston, conducted numerous public forums earlier this year, and sought the input of faculty, staff and students. Preliminary recommendations had called for fee increases to be phased in over a three-year period, but the university decided to propose a five-year implementation to ameliorate the impact on users. Trustees hire designers, seek construction bids Trustees authorized the university to hire architects and engineers for several projects, including three by the Medical Center to build ambulatory care centers in central Ohio communities. The Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Research Institute and University Hospitals will hire designers and seek construction bids for medical centers in Gahanna and Pickerington. They will share the $13.7 million cost of the two facilities. In Gahanna, the facility will be at the corner of Hamilton and Beecher roads, just south of Morse Road. The Pickerington location will be at the corner of Hill Road North and Refugee Road. University Hospitals will hire designers for a third community ambulatory care center, and will pay the $11.4 million cost. The facility will be located at Feder Road and Evans Way Court, just off Hilliard-Rome Road on the city's west side. The university also will hire architects and engineers for a $1.2 million renovation of Founders Auditorium in Ovalwood Hall on the Marion campus. The bulk of funding for the theater project will come from the state, with the balance shared by the Marion campus and North Central Technical College. Housing, Food Services and Events Centers will pay $2.4 million to replace the fire alarms in Lincoln and Morrill towers. And space in Bevis Hall will be renovated to provide a Transgenic Zebrafish laboratory. An Ohio Board of Regents grant will fund the $375,000 project. PARKING RATES Comparison with Benchmark Institutions University Highest Fee Lowest Student Fee Arizona $1,200 $160 Washington $1,080 $385 UCLA $900 $516 Michigan $803 Free (very remote) Minnesota $799 $399 Wisconsin $680 N/A Penn State $288 $174 Illinois $265 (to $533 by 2003)$265 Texas $245 $65 Ohio State $231 $37 Proposed Ohio State Fee Increases Permit Current FY98-99 99-00 00-01 01-02 02-03 A Central $231 $288 $345 $396 $432 $474 A West $156 $72 $87 $99 $108 $120 B Central $122 $150 $180 $207 $225 $249 B Garage $217 $267 $321 $365 $402 $438 B West $84 $39 $45 $51 $57 $62 C Central $83 $99 $120 $138 $150 $165 C Garage $217 $267 $321 $366 $402 $438 C West $37 $24 $30 $33 $39 $42 # Contact: Sarah Blouch, transportation and parking, (614) 292-9800 Written by Dave Bhaerman, University Communications, (614) 292-8422.