pacific nw transportation consortium region 10 Pactrans

Parking Planning Tools to Improve Efficiencies, Aid Recovery, and Prepare for the Post-COVID Environment

PI: Danna Moore (WSU), moored@wsu.edu, ORCID: 0000-0001-5171-4546

Co PIs: none

AMOUNT & MATCH: $40,000 from PacTrans; $40,000 Match

PERFORMANCE PERIOD: 3/16/2021 – 3/15/2022

STATUS: Completed

CATEGORIES: Parking, COVID-19, Efficiency

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DESCRIPTION: Washington State University Transportation Services is a self-sustaining unit responsible for managing the parking and transportation facilities and operations at WSU. They manage over 8,300 parking spaces including covered garages, paved lots and unpaved gravel lots. As a self-sustaining unit, Transportation Services is required to balance their budget through the collection of short-term parking fees, annual permit sales, and parking fines. The aim of this project is to provide parking and transportation planners at WSU with the information they need to improve operating efficiencies so that they can better meet parking demands, community transportation needs, and recover from the budget deficit left by COVID-19.

Where should lots be located? How should annual permit prices be set? Which lots should be available for hourly parking? What is the optimal hourly rate? By developing a rigorous model of parking supply and demand at WSU, this project seeks to identify the critical tradeoffs parking planners face in making operating decisions (setting rates, selecting lot locations, etc.), and provide guidance for efficient parking management strategies.