Business Proposal For Improvement In Parking Facilities At Harrisburg University
Existing Parking
Describe about the Business Proposal for Improvement in Parking Facilities?
The following proposal deals with the improvement in parking facilities at Harrisburg University. It is an esteemed private non-profit university in Pennsylvania, United States. The parking facility for the users is divided into three main categories: Resident students, Commuter students, and Faculty. The current parking facility of the University is divided into three levels. The current issues faced are mainly due to the excess demand over supply. Since the parking garage is huge, one has to waste a lot of time finding a spot for parking. The vending machines only accept cash. There is an uneven distribution of parking rate. One of the vending machines is always out of service out of the two.
The purpose of this proposal is to offer an improvement in the parking facility at Harrisburg University. The proposal involves cost saving techniques and expansion of payment acceptance modes. The proposal also consists of techniques in parking that would save time for people. The pricing strategy is focused upon that would be economical. Latest technology and applications that would improve the parking facility is also focused upon (Latham & Trombka, 2010).
The Parking facility for Harrisburg University is huge. The facility for parking is open seven days in a week for 24 hours. The parking is shut only on Christmas and New Years (Harrisburg Parking, 2015).
Existing Parking Status
Harrisburg University has an existing supply of 12000 parking spots. The demand for a parking space has been increasing continuously. The levels of parking are in the basement divided mainly for resident students, commuter students, and faculty or staff (Willson, 2013). Table 1 shows the breakdown of some designated spaces in the parking lot.
|
Parking Designation |
Number of Designated Spaces |
|
Student |
5000 |
|
Faculty/ Staff |
3000 |
|
Commuter Student |
2300 |
|
Visitors |
1000 |
|
Car Pool |
500 |
|
Service |
200 |
|
Total |
12000 |
Existing Parking Demand
Harrisburg University has thousands of students enrolling every year. Apart from existing students, there are visitors and commuters visiting the college. There are also lined up people who require parking responsible for providing any service in the university. The university has multiple shifts that demand some parking facilities (Harrisburgu.net, 2015). Table 2 shows the breakdown of requirement or demand of parking spots.
|
Parking Designation |
Number of Designated Spaces |
|
Student |
6000 |
|
Faculty/ Staff |
3600 |
|
Commuter Student |
3100 |
|
Visitors |
1400 |
|
Car Pool |
600 |
|
Service |
300 |
|
Total |
15000 |
Existing Prices
The existing parking garage rate is an uneven distribution. They charge an amount of $18 for 5 hours as well as 10 hours. The pricing slab is listed in Table 3.
|
Parking Time |
Hourly Rate |
|
30 minutes or Less |
$3.00 |
|
30 minutes – 2 Hours |
$8.00 |
|
2 Hours – 5 Hours |
$12.00 |
|
5 Hours – 10 Hours |
$18.00 |
|
Up to 24 Hours |
$20.00 |
The Monthly Parking Rate for the University is showed in Table 4.
Proposed Policies
|
Particulars |
Monthly Rate |
|
Non-Reserved |
$180.00 |
|
Reserved |
$245.00 |
Other Defects
Out of the two vending machines, one is always out of order. With one working machine, it is difficult for the parking lot to commute and there is a loss of time.
The people also have to spend 20 minutes to look for an empty spot in the garage for parking.
The vending machine only accepts cash as a mode of payment (Tumlin, 2012).
According to the research conducted, the space available for parking is clearly less than what it should be (‘Planning Early for Parking Success’, 2007). An account of parking improvement options available in other universities and colleges are listed as below:
Proposal 1- Universities/colleges partner with other local organizations to make their parking available to each other.
Harrisburg University might consider having partnerships with nearby organizations such as Transit Park, Market Square Garage, and Walnut Street Garage. Partnering with other nearby organizations to make their parking available to each other leads to following advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages: This can help in reduction of demand of parking spaces. Different tariffs can be applied for the local organization and students from Harrisburg University. The visitors’ car parking rates can also be different so that there are fewer burdens on Harrisburg University. Partnering with local organizations helps in increasing the parking space (Singh, 2012).
Disadvantages: The differential costing strategy may be discouraged by communities. There is a risk of security as the parking will be in the other organization (Liv.ac.uk, 2015).
Proposal 2- Transit Utilizations
Transportation may be utilized by improving access to vehicles for public.
Advantages: It reduces single occupancy vehicle trips. Park and ride can be implemented where transport can be utilized instead of parking at a final destination. Promotion of public conveyances helps in reducing the demand for parking spaces. This also reduces the money for development of a bigger parking garage as demanded.
Disadvantages: People may find it inconvenient to use public conveyances every day due to heavy rush. There is a risk of security in park and ride implementation.
Proposal 3- Miscellaneous Action Plans
Miscellaneous action plans may be developed such as Ridesharing, Transportation Demand Management and Online payment of parking through the internet via mobile.
The parking management can be done by structuring the basement. Transportation Demand Management could be run for monitoring, coordination and enforcement. Adequate parking staff can be employed for guiding the people and saving them parking time. Provide assigned the number for parking at the gate itself so that time is not wasted. Ridesharing boards can be provided to find commuting bodies when people are traveling from nearby places. This can be applied by creating an interactive Google Map whose information will be based in the student directory. The map can be viewed after students’ login to their website. This technology will share information of where the students stay and can commute together every day by sharing rides (Shoup, 2015).
Advantages
Structuring of the parking area would help in accommodating more vehicles on the same footprint.
An increase in loyalty and satisfaction.
Shorter search times for parking spot
Reduced build up at entries and exits
Parking payment is done through the internet via mobile (Wu & Yan, 2015).
Carpools and vanpools can be used as an effective technique by reducing usage of personal conveyances.
Maintain fair cost depending on the hours of parking.
Reduce the cost of parking.
Payment to be done at the parking gate itself rather than paying on the first floor of campus.
Instead of only cash, vending machine should accept credit cards as well as debit cards.
The application must be developed for accepting payment through internet on mobile (Fuss & O’Neill, 2007).
Disadvantages:
A huge expenditure will be incurred in improving the basement structure and employment of technical staff. Expenses will also be incurred with an introduction of mobile application and other technological changes (SUBRAMANI, 2012).
Table 5 showed a comparison of existing parking spaces and recommended parking spaces based upon the rates.
|
User Group |
Existing Spaces |
Required Space |
Recommended Space |
Parking Surplus (Deficit) |
|
Student |
5000 |
6000 |
5500 |
(500) |
|
Faculty/ Staff |
3000 |
3600 |
3100 |
(500) |
|
Commuter Student |
2300 |
3100 |
2600 |
(400) |
|
Visitors |
1000 |
1400 |
1200 |
(200) |
|
Car Pool |
500 |
600 |
550 |
(50) |
|
Service |
200 |
300 |
300 |
– |
|
Total |
12000 |
15000 |
13250 |
(1650) |
|
Parking Time |
Recommended Hourly Rate |
|
30 minutes or Less |
$2.50 |
|
2 Hours or Less |
$7.00 |
|
3 Hours or Less |
$9.00 |
|
5 Hours or Less |
$11.00 |
|
7 Hours or Less |
$13.00 |
|
10 Hours or Less |
$15.00 |
|
24 Hours or Less |
$17.00 |
Table 6 shows the proposed pricing that may be economical for people parking in the university. The allotted time for pricing was unjustified. The people parking for 5 Hours or 10 Hours had to pay the same amount. So the time allotment can be considered revising along with prices.
Conclusion And Recommendations
Proposal 3 may be chosen that comprises of miscellaneous action plan such as Parking Management, Ridesharing and online payment. The parking plan recommendations for improving parking facilities at Harrisburg University might be taken into consideration. The increase in parking space must be made as there is excess demand over supply. Along with increase in parking space, various techniques must be implemented that would reduce the demand in parking space. Public transit usage must be encouraged. The utilization of parking space must be monitored and coordinated efficiently for reducing wastage of time. Alternative plans may also be developed for improving modes of travel. Transportation Demand Program can be established with the support and role of local communities and other partners. The parking regulations must be complied with. A parking permit program can be arranged for promoting usage of carpools and vanpools. Ridesharing must be encouraged so that single occupancy of vehicles is reduced. Financial burden from user groups may be reduced by lessening the parking prices. An even distribution for parking at an hourly basis must be provided. The payment facility must be expanded from cash to cards. Application must be developed for accepting payment through internet on mobile.
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Latham, K., & Trombka, A. (2010). AN OVERVIEW OF PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS IN ROAD, PARKING, AND TRANSIT PROJECTS (p. 44). Retrieved from https://www.emontgomery.org/olo/resources/files/2010-6.pdf
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