II. IMPORTANT CONSIDERATIONS

There are several important factors that provide certain constraints as to where garages can be sited, but they also provide opportunities for improved access and further integration of parking structures into the overall campus environment. Previous campus planning efforts have identified some sites for potential garages, but the rapid pace of development and parking displacement in the District has created an immediate need to evaluate these sites and others for their suitability as garage locations. Without an immediate evaluation, prime garage sites may be taken for other projects, exacerbating existing parking and traffic problems and creating new ones.

Master Plan Ideas

As part of a more comprehensive Master Plan for the entire University, Sasaki Associates completed a South Campus District Plan (SCDP) in August of 1997. The SCDP does not provide a timetable or other details for specific projects; instead, it provides a framework as to what should occur in certain areas of campus and the criteria that should be considered in evaluating future projects. Therefore, considerable flexibility exists in the implementation phase of this Plan.

KEY CONCEPTS

The SCDP contained three main concepts to guide future development in this District. Included in the recommendations was the long-term objective of eliminating surface parking in the district core and converting parking lots to new buildings or parking structures. According to the SCDP, "Surface parking that is displaced by new construction and site improvements should be replaced by structured parking that maintains the level of proximity afforded to faculty, staff, students and visitors by current surface parking." The SCDP also called for significant alterations in the landscape and civic structure of the District, with improved pedestrian and visual links between green space in the Central Campus area and green space in the South Campus and Health Sciences area. The three main concepts were as follows:

1. A Long-Range Framework for Development of the Health Sciences Area

The SCDP provided a long-term viewpoint for development in the Health Sciences Area, west of Neil Avenue to the Olentangy River. In particular, it called for expanding the Health Sciences buildings west of Cannon Drive, on the current sites of the intramural fields and staff parking lots. It also called for the Health Sciences area to become a more welcoming and cohesive environment, with better utilization of open space. A key recommendation in this regard as it pertains to parking is the creation of a "Health Sciences Quadrangle" on the site of the existing Rhodes Hall parking lot that presently serves Health Sciences patients. This quadrangle would replace the parking lot with green space.

The SCDP anticipated that "a large complement of visitor and patient-oriented parking will be located near the center of the area in structures with pedestrian connections to hospital and clinic facilities, while the balance of parking will be dispersed in perimeter locations off Cannon Drive, West 12th Avenue and West 8th Avenue. As development takes place in the Health Sciences area, surface parking will give way to structured parking as appropriate to the urban density of the area."

2. A University Residential Community Between Neil Avenue and High Street

At present, OSU's boundary south of 11th Avenue between Neil Avenue and High Street is marked by surface parking lots and disparate land uses and buildings. The SCDP called for "residential and supporting uses at densities that make a gradual transition from the low-rise, off-campus residential environment to the higher density of the University's South Dorms complex on the north side of West 11th Avenue."

For parking in this area of the South Campus, the SCDP anticipated that "parking for the residential development in the blocks east of Neil Avenue will be provided within the buildings, in structures or under decks in the center of the blocks, and in surface parking courts as the area is built out." The SCDP called for parking that was displaced in this area to be replaced in the same area, but recognized that this type of replacement may have to occur elsewhere in the University inventory. According to the SCDP, this area of campus should not be seen as a location for new parking facilities to accommodate parking demand from elsewhere on campus, due to the residential framework.

3. The District as a Portal to the University

This component of the SCDP acknowledged the role of the South Campus as the gateway to the University from Columbus and points south. With this acknowledgment came the recommendation that vehicular access be clarified, and that this process would be aided by the construction of the State Route 315 ramps and streetscape improvements.

PARKING SITES IDENTIFIED IN SOUTH CAMPUS DISTRICT PLAN

The SCDP identified a number of locations for future parking in the District. The table below lists garage sites identified in Figure V-23 of the SCDP, including only sites identified as free-standing parking structures in the plan. The SCDP also identified numerous sites to be located under buildings to be built in the future, but these are not shown on the table since they will not be built on a schedule that will be helpful to address current problems.

TABLE 1: Potential Parking Structures (Free-Standing) Identified in SCDP

The SCDP identified the Wiseman Lot site as the desired location for increasing the supply of proximate spaces available to patients and visitors in the Health Sciences area. MAP 2: Garage Sites Identified in SCDP and T&P Plans provides a reference point for these locations relative to the rest of campus.

The SCDP recognized that construction projects that displaced surface parking and/or generated additional parking demand would require new parking to be created in parking structures. A key component of the SCDP's parking strategy was to provide a level of parking under new buildings. This solution should be considered, but it is important to note that the number of parking spaces gained by providing one level of parking under a building would likely not be sufficient to meet the building's parking demand, let alone other displaced spaces. Constructing underground parking garages would also be cost-prohibitive, as the cost is typically about double the cost per space for constructing an above-ground garage. Overall, the SCDP is more of a framework for future development than a guide to implementation. As such, the SCDP did not identify funding requirements or funding solutions for new parking structures.

The Transportation and Parking Plan

At the end of the University Master Planning process, the Department of Transportation and Parking (T&P) engaged Sasaki to develop a Transportation and Parking Plan (T&P Plan). This Plan built upon work previously completed by CHANCE Management Advisors, Inc. (CMA) and Gorove/Slade Associates (G/SA) in 1993, and included recommendations for parking and transportation improvements in all areas of the OSU campus, including the District. The Plan consisted of occupancy studies of all of OSU's parking facilities, an analysis of changes in supply and demand, and an analysis of transportation alternatives, such as increased bus service. It also examined OSU's parking rates and developed some rough estimates of future parking rates needed to support increases in parking supply.

PLAN RECOMMENDATIONS

The T&P Plan examined a number of alternatives and the associated effects these alternatives would have on parking fees. After reviewing the fee implications of these options, the T&P Plan recommended an increase of transit service, with 3,000 net new parking spaces constructed on campus. These 3,000 spaces were intended to be split between the North Campus and South Campus. The assumption that this quantity of new spaces would be adequate was based on the parking supply and demand analysis that Sasaki conducted in 1997.

An essential component of this recommendation was increased incentives for the use of West Campus parking. The T&P Plan suggested an immediate reduction in West Campus parking rates, and that subsequently, West Campus rates be set at one fourth of Central Campus rates.

TABLE 2 below lists the potential garage sites identified in T&P Plan. Some, but not all, of these sites are ones that were also proposed by the SCDP as potential parking structures (free standing). Again, to view the locations of these sites relative to the rest of campus, refer to MAP 2: Garage Sites Identified in SCDP and T&P Plans

TABLE 2: South Campus Garage Sites Identified in T&P Plan

In addition to proposing these sites as garages, the T&P Plan also included a preliminary assessment of how new spaces should be allocated among the various user groups in the South Campus. TABLE 3 shows the recommended allocation of new South Campus spaces in the T&P Plan:

TABLE 3: Recommended Allocation of Net New South Campus Spaces in T&P Plan

To support these parking and transit improvements, Sasaki developed a schedule for fee increases. After reviewing this schedule, OSU adjusted the rate increases to soften the impact on University customers, with the caveat that the fee schedule could be revised in the future to accommodate changes in development and needs.

Actions taken by T&P since plan

T&P has adopted a number of the solutions proposed in the T&P Plan. New bus routes have been added, and the frequency of bus service has also been increased. These improvements have dramatically increased ridership on the Campus Area Bus Service (CABS). Ridership doubled between 1997-98 and 1998-99, and is on track to significantly increase again in 1999-2000.

Along with this increased ridership, parking demand on West Campus has also increased significantly. Financial incentives for parking on West Campus likely have something to do with this, as does parking displacement attributable to construction on the Central Campus. West Campus parking is experiencing sufficient demand to warrant exploring expansion in the very near future. More detail on the current status of these improvements is provided in Section III of this report.

Parking Demand Assessment

The T&P Plan estimated that 1,500 net new spaces were needed in the District at the time the plan was written. Since the SCDP and T&P Plan were conducted, a number of new development projects and expansion of existing activities have been proposed for the District. These projects are at various stages of development, but all will have at least some effect on parking demand. Additionally, several projects are proposed on the sites of existing parking lots, resulting in parking displacement as well as increased parking demand. Meanwhile, occupancy counts have shown that parking facilities in the District are filled to near or at practical capacity, as shown in APPENDIX B. Thus, at a minimum, the conclusions of the T&P Plan that 1,500 net new spaces were necessary in the District are valid, and may even need to be increased, given the new projects, which are described in more detail below.

Parking Supply and Demand Changes

These new developments and activities will benefit the OSU community and the surrounding areas, but they also require that a reassessment be made of the calculations done in the T&P Plan. TABLE 4: Development / New Activities Since the T&P Plan provides a summary of the new development projects and their effects, to the extent they are now known. Unless otherwise noted, these projects were not considered in the 1,500 net new space estimate in the T&P Plan. Because many of these projects are in early stages of planning and design, it is impossible to quantify the total increase in demand or reduction in supply at this time. As these projects are more clearly defined, a transportation and parking analysis must be conducted with funding allocated to address identified issues. It will be extremely important to ascertain the cumulative effects on parking, traffic, and access in order to develop a strategy to resolve problems that the developments will create. Following the table is MAP 3: Potential Developments, which shows the location of these projects and their current known effects on the parking supply. Several photos also illustrate the parking supply and demand changes.

TABLE 4: Development / New Activities Since the T&P Plan

(Projects with specific locations are keyed to MAP 3.)

In addition to the projects and activities identified above, the likelihood exists that other projects will be added to the list in the near future. The estimated parking gains/losses and changes in supply and demand because of known construction projects as listed above are shown in TABLE 5.

TABLE 5: South Campus and Health Sciences District Parking Effects

Thus, the quantity of new spaces needed to replace those lost to construction is at least 795 spaces. Additional demand will add to the number of spaces needed, with a great number of "unknowns" still to be calculated. With these factors in mind, it appears as if 1,500 net new spaces is approximately the minimum needed to maintain existing levels of service for OSU's parking customers, and this number will not address the remaining unspecified demand that may be considerable. As more details are available on the various projects, this estimate must be recalculated. Further, the University should initiate a process to continuously measure parking supply, demand, and access, and evaluate these factors against the level of service OSU desires to provide its customers.

Summary

While it is impossible at this stage to fully quantify the displacement of parking spaces and increase in demand, it is evident that OSU is facing a significant problem. Adding to the severity of the situation is the fact that all of these projects are proceeding independently. Because of budget constraints for each project, and competing priorities, there is no cohesive approach to understanding the cumulative effects of the projects on parking, traffic, and access, and there is no strategy for resolving the problems that clearly will result.

Because of the rapid pace of development in the District, it is imperative that certain sites be reserved for future parking structures, or else parking demand will exceed the proximate parking supply by an even greater extent than it does currently and opportunities to increase this supply will be eliminated. Already, the Life Sciences Building is removing surface parking and eliminating one of the potential garage sites identified both in the SCDP and the T&P Plan.

Unless parking sites are selected and reserved in the District in the immediate future, OSU will not only experience severe parking shortages, it will be unable to do anything effective to relieve the situation. For many years, the assumption has been that continued construction of buildings (classroom, medical, student services) and support functions (e.g., expansion of the substation, landscaping) could proceed without the effects on parking being resolved before the projects were approved. The perception seems to have been (and in some cases still is) that the campus is so large that effects on parking could be mitigated one place or another. That flexibility no longer exists. Extensive land on West Campus for more remote parking no longer exists. And soon adequate sites for garages will no longer exist.

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