Blueprint for a Green Campus (2000 Edition)

Growing Without Increasing Traffic

The Vision

CU caps traffic at today’s levels by growing in such a way that there is no net increase in single-occupant vehicle trips by students, faculty and staff.

One of the major effects of campus growth is an increase in automobile traffic. This results in local air pollution, increased carbon dioxide emissions, and impacts to quality of life. However, several major research universities have shown that it is possible for a campus to be a growing, vital institution without increasing the number of auto trips coming to and leaving the school. In fact, in a landlocked campus like CU, it may well be less expensive to take this innovative approach than to attempt to satisfy demand through increased parking supply. This is because any new parking will likely be in parking structures, at costs of $20,000 or more per space.

Thus, we propose that CU commit to growing in such a way that there is no net increase in single occupant vehicle trips by students, faculty, and staff. This can be achieved through a combination of market incentives, a strong commitment to transit and bicycle programs, capping the amount of parking, and developing close-in housing for students and employees.

Other campuses have shown that this is possible. For example, Stanford University has grown by 2 million square feet of new building space since 1991--a 20 percent increase -- without increasing peak period auto trips to campus. The population of the University of Washington has increased by seven percent since 1991, while vehicle trips to and from campus have decreased by five percent.

Master Plan Language

The new master plan for CU Boulder that was adopted by the Board of Regents in February 2000 recognizes the importance of increasing alternate modes access to campus, but does not attempt to cap automobile trips to campus . The master plan assumes that the current modal split--that is, the percentage of trips that occur on buses vs. cars vs. bikes or walking--will not change. This means that, as campus grows, the number of car trips will also grow. In order to deal with this growth, the plan calls for the construction of two new parking structures in the vicinity of the main campus--one next to the stadium and one in Grandview Terrace. The policies recommended in this section of the blueprint suggest that the net supply of parking should not be increased.

The following language in the master plan shows some support for expanding non-automobile access to campus:

Normally preferred modes of on-campus transportation are, in order: (1) walking, (2) bicycling, (3) transit, and lastly (4) driving. This encourages "environmentally friendly" transportation, meaning best use of land, minimizing air pollutants, and maximizing safety. A pedestrian-oriented environment for the heart of the campus enhances the total learning experience. Vehicular trips may be necessary for longer distances, time-urgent needs, and movement of materials. (Section IV.E.1.C)

The limited supply and increased cost of housing in Boulder has meant that more faculty, staff, and students live longer distances away from campus. Their commutes will become more and more time consuming as traffic congestion increases, reducing the availability of faculty to students. Consequently, CU-Boulder will increase its efforts to help ensure affordable, proximate housing. (Section IV.E.1.C)

Encourage better transit service for faculty and staff use with the intent of affecting the modal split to campus. Develop better data, combining both counts and surveys, for future modal split analysis. (Section IV.E.2.C)

Current and Future Initiatives

The faculty/staff ecopass, started in 1998, provides transit passes to all continuing employees at CU. Since the program began, transit use by employees has gone up by 88 percent, while 157 employees have given up their parking permits entirely.

The student bus pass program, begun in 1991, provides bus passes to all fee paying CU students, and to family members of students living in Family Housing. Student transit use has grown by 500 percent since the program started.

Parking on campus is an auxiliary department, so revenues from parking permits, meters, and fines cover the cost of providing parking (although the revenues do not have to cover the cost of the underlying land). The lack of free parking provides a significant incentive for alternate modes use.

CU staff are working in cooperation with RTD and the City of Boulder to plan for the new STAMPEDE shuttle linking East campus, the research park, and main campus. Current plans call for the buses to be hybrid electric vehicles.

The priority bike project is to develop a west-east route from Broadway, through Main Campus on to the East Campus. This corridor includes Pleasant Street, walkways north of Ramaley and Porter Biology buildings, Fieldhouse Plaza, and Colorado Avenue.(This is referenced in the master plan section IV.E.4.C).

The master plan calls for 1900 new student beds at William Village, as well as 100 units for faculty and staff. Providing housing near campus is perhaps the single most important step for reducing trips.

Additional Steps Needed to Achieve the Goal

First, CU would need to adopt the goal of meeting additional demand generated by campus growth through non-automobile modes and demand-management techniques.

Parking supply is one of the key determinants of travel behavior. Any attempt to keep traffic generated by CU from growing will require capping total parking supply at today’s levels.

Additional use of market incentives could play an important role. This could include managing demand by raising parking permit and meter costs, or the Stanford approach of paying employees a yearly payment if they choose not to purchase a parking permit.

Expanding housing supply on and near campus is another important component of a comprehensive approach to growing without more traffic. While the current master plan represents a step forward, still more could be done to develop housing for students and faculty.

There have been a variety of surveys, diary studies, and direct counts used to try to quantify traffic flows in and out of CU. Any attempt to cap automobile traffic generated by campus will require a consistent methodology to track campus transportation trends.

References

Arias et al, The Proposed Campus Master Plan: Impacts and Costs, Students for Transportation Solutions, February 2000

Poinsatte, F. and Toor, W., Finding A New Way: Campus Transportation for the 21st Century, University of Colorado, 1999

Shoup, D., The High Cost of Free Parking, Journal of Planning Education and Research, 1997

Tumlin, J., Growing Without Negative Impacts: How Stanford Added 2 Million Square Feet Without Increasing Traffic, notes from invited talk at CU Boulder, November 1999

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