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task, and requires an extraordinary level of engagement and partnership. Most campuses view parking as a


means to facilitate other university pur- poses. Although operated as an auxil- iary, parking is not viewed as a busi- ness end unto itself, but rather as a sup- port operation of a larger transporta- tion system servicing various needs. Profit maximization has never been an operational imperative; often, parking is given away to benefit the greater good of the institution. When looking at a long-term lease


of parking, the allure of the initial cash payment needs to be balanced against the risks if operational requirements are not met, parking land is needed for oth- er uses, or other events occur that may result in the university having to com- pensate the operator. Compounding the complexity, the


university’s parking department is usu- ally combined with another such as Transportation or Public Safety, and often the parking staff ends up perform- ing a variety of ancillary functions that may be unrelated to the specific act of parking, such as addressing construc- tion impacts, traffic- or transportation- demand management. Many of these functions are sup-


ported by parking revenue, and are “handed” to the department to manage in the absence of skills or funding in other campus areas. Defining exactly which functions


could be “concessioned” and which remain with the university is a daunting task. When you think about the changes that have occurred in the past 50 years (anyone seen a pay phone lately?), how are those potential new changes predict- ed for the next 50 years? Most universi- ty transportation systems are set up to function as an integrated whole. Wayfinding, traffic flow, transit sys-


tems, parking policies and parking loca- tions all reinforce and influence one another. By introducing a third party into the parking component, a universi- ty must reevaluate the purposes, func- tion and funding models of the other parts of the system. For example, quick decisions and


customer complaints that may have been addressed by one department might now require multiple stops. Before consummating any agreement, accountability for transportation prob- lems must be clearly defined or deci- sion-making may be fractured to the point where no department has the abil- ity or responsibility to solve the issue.


Parking Today www.parkingtoday.com 43


When run well, a university parking


operation makes going to and from cam- pus a non-event. Behind the scenes, how- ever, there are parking professionals who work hard to make it seem so easy. Part of the challenge of any universi-


ty parking concession discussion is edu- cating the campus community on the services the department provides and considering the cost implications of those services as they relate to a private opera- tor’s willingness to perform them.


Application-based learning out- comes include: • Consider the implications of trans-


ferring parking land and facilities to pri- vate control under a long-term lease, both in terms of service for the campus com- munity and the use of land for further growth and development. • Reflect on the changes in working


relationships and processes when operat- ing departments must work out changes in a paid, private environment, rather than


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