News of parking shortages at two of Florida's major state universities, including the University of South Florida here in the New North area of Tampa,  has recently found its way into the headlines of two local newspapers.  The Tampa Tribune reported on the 42,000 permits issued which give permit holders the opportunity to "hunt" for a parking spot among just over 17,300 spaces.  It told of student protests and "overzealous" enforcers but also of the economics of providing access for the thousands of people arriving campus each day.  The cost of each parking space in a new garage is estimated by the International Parking Institute at over $10,000, and an estimated $375 per space a year for maintenance, lights, personnel, and debt service.  A self-sufficient Parking & Transportation Services must pay for these costs itself.  It does so by generating revenue from parking permit sales, a $2.25/credit hour transportation access fee, meters, and parking fines.  

We're not alone.

Other major universities across the state, including the University of Florida, Florida State University, and the University of Central Florida grapple with the same types of parking issues.  For those unfamiliar with the University of Florida's campus, the St. Petersburg Times shares commuter experiences from the Gainesville campus, including gridlocked traffic, blockaded roads, and the familiar site of "Tow Zone" signs.  In a similar scenario as at USF, 38,000 bought permits at USF this year - for the chance to compete for only a little more than 23,400 parking spaces.  While this is a little better ratio than at USF, students can still be seen following others to their cars in hopes of being the first one to encounter that ever so coveted, vacated space.  

Looking outside of Florida, things are not much different.  Many large state universities, including the University of Maryland and the University of Virginia, enact similar measures such as heavy enforcement, shuttles, and park and ride lots.  Many others set high parking rates in an effort to curb the number of people purchasing permits - and competing for lots (University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill charges up to $400/year for student permits).  Others, such as Penn State and the University of Michigan,  require that students complete a certain number of credit hours before they are allowed to park on campus.  

So what ARE students and employees to do? 

Commuter Choices Week 2003 Revisited

This year's Commuter Choices Week, October 6-11, consisted of many successful events throughout the Tampa Bay Area, including Clearwater, St. Petersburg, Downtown Tampa, Westshore, and here in the New North.  

The New North Transportation Alliance conducted a large scale Transportation Fair at USF, with the focus of educating students and employees about their commute options such as bicycling, carpooling, walking, and riding transit and the special commuter programs available to the university community - such as Bull Runner transit, the USF-HARTline Fare-Free Bus Riding Program, and the USF Police Anti-Theft Bicycle Registration Program.   

Hundreds of people participated by talking with representatives from the New North Transportation Alliance, Bay Area Commuter Services, HARTline, the Hillsborough MPO, the Hillsborough County Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee, University Bicycle Club,  USF Police Department, and the University Mall (distributing information about mall discounts for USF students & employees). Many participants also played an interactive "transportation trivia" game in which they could win a variety of prizes.

EPA Now Issuing Daily Air Quality Reports for Tampa

In an effort to increase the effectiveness of its Air Quality Index, the United States Environmental Protection Agency recently began issuing daily alerts for air pollutants in Tampa, and in about 35 other cities prone to air pollution.  Previously these air quality reports were issued only during the summertime smog season, when pollutants tend to be at particularly high levels due to the heat and sunlight.  

Air quality is measured by taking daily raw measurements of major pollutants at a given location and converting them into Air Quality Index (AQI) values using standard EPA formulas.   According to the EPA's AIRNow website, "air quality is measured by monitors that record the concentrations of the major pollutants each day at more than a thousand locations across the country. These raw measurements are then converted into AQI values using standard formulas developed by EPA. An AQI value is calculated for each pollutant in an area (ground-level ozone, particle pollution, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide). The highest AQI value for the individual pollutants is the AQI value for that day. For example, if on July 12 a certain area had AQI values of 90 for ozone and 88 for sulfur dioxide, the AQI value would be 90 for the pollutant ozone on that day."

High levels of pollutants in the air can be dangerous, even for generally healthy people.  Different pollutants affect people in different ways.  For example, particle pollution at moderate levels may aggravate the symptoms of people with heart or lung disease, while ozone pollution may affect people with lung disease such as asthma more so than others.  

The AQI uses a color-coded system to differentiate between air quality levels and subsequently levels of health concern.  Tables are available on the AIRNow website for particle pollution, ozone, carbon monoxide, and sulfur dioxide.  

Air Quality Index (AQI): Particle Pollution

 Source:  www.epa.gov/airnow

Vanpool Riders Wanted:  Decrease commute costs, improve use of travel time
A vanpool traveling from Sarasota/Bradenton to the USF Area, including the VA Hospital and Telecom Parkway is seeking riders.  Work hours are from 7:00am - 4:30 pm.  Call 813-282-8200 for more information.  

New North Alliance Seeks Comments on Commute Experiences

UNTI is interested in hearing about your commute!  Simply send an email to sobush@cutr.usf.edu or fill out the commute comments form at www.newnorthalliance.org to tell us about your daily commute and any ways you have found to make the trip more bearable.