Abstract
University campuses generate large volumes of traffic, with students forming the largest user class with distinctive trip characteristics. This study examined the parking choices of students at a large urban campus. A student survey was conducted with 1,022 respondents to collect data on students’ parking behavior, intelligent transportation systems (ITS) needs, and level of service (LOS) expectations. The survey results included home-to-campus mode choices, arrival time buffers, parking locations, “last-mile” mode choices, and factors that influence the type of permit to purchase. Online permit sales, flexible parking zones, and real-time parking lot availability information were the three most preferred ITS enabled services. Using the survey feedback, new LOS criteria for parking search time are proposed, which range from up to 2 min for LOS A, to longer than 15 min for LOS F. This research makes several contributions. The survey results not only contribute to a better understanding of student transportation choices and parking patterns on campus, but the list of preferred ITS enabled services also gives the university valuable user feedback on where to improve the campus parking experience. More importantly, the LOS criteria for parking search time provides a new tool for traffic engineers to measure the quality of service of a parking facility. Although the survey was conducted on a particular campus, information gathered for the ITS enabled services for parking and LOS criteria for parking search time are likely to be transferable to other university campuses.
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