#enviroment

"Spanfeller is a twat" (theaspiringengineer) 10/18/2018 at 12:34 • Filed to: None

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I’ll join my schools climate commission. I have an idea of how to reduce car usage. What do y’all think of this idea:

A significant area of the School is lost to Parking infrastructure.

I’m going to suggest that they apply a parking cost raise. Around 5,000 students and faculty members commute by car and its frankly too many (I include myself in this group)

At the moment it’s two dollars per day, while the bus to school is up to four dollars a day; way too expensive. So I suggest this:

On Mondays parking costs 2X to 1st and 2nd semester students

Tuesdays its 2x parking costs for 3rd and 4th semester students

Wednesday’s its 2x for 5th and 6th semester

Thursday’s its 2x for 7th and 8th semester students

Friday it’s 2x for 9th semester students and masters degree candidates

On the day students have a 2X parking cost their bus fare goes down 90%. Or they could arrive by carpooling; 2 passengers is normal fare and 3passegers is free.

Motorcycles will start paying for parking, 1 dollar per day. Also former students must pay three times the regular cost.

In order to exempt the charges they need to prove need for a car (say architecture students bringing a model for a presentation) for bulky items, they live outside the school bus routes by more than a 15min walk/public transit route, or having classes outside the bus’ schedule.

For students living in Santa fe, bringing their bicycle gives them a 0.50 cent bonus per day in their student account.

The parking and school bus finances will be made publicly available and any profit must be used to place solar pannels in the parking lot and the purchase of any equipment that could reduce the school’s carbon footprint.

The concept is an excise tax; by making parking more expensive, less people will be inclined to use the parking lot. However, the 2x increase is still lower than the cost of parking in the adjacent public parking lots, so it avoids the loophole of using an adjacent lot instead of the school lot.

The environmental costs of cars is well known here, but there’s also traffic; all private vehicles (electric or not) reduce a road’s capacity significantly more than a bus, more traffic means lower speeds and more stop-go traffic, meaning that it increases pollution.

Ps: in the case of carpooling, my school has a contract with SPLT, but it doesn’t teach us how to use it... maybe we could include more material about SPLT. 

Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:40

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You would have to see if all the math works out in the case of money, and it might be abused somehow, but it could work. 

CB > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:41

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I don’t know if increasing the cost of parking will solve the problem, and it might just make people park elsewhere around vicinity of campus. A bus pass program (we got a bus pass as part of our tuition, which came out to about $360 for eight months ) could help motivate people to take public transit more. You need to give more carrot and less stick.

Spanfeller is a twat > Daily Drives a Dragon - One Last Lap 10/18/2018 at 12:41

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It could be abused, but I wager that even with the abuse it could reduce car usage. 

Spanfeller is a twat > CB 10/18/2018 at 12:43

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Yes, on days with parking hikes, bus costs are reduced 90% for those affected. Also, even at 4 dollars, it’s cheaper than parking in adjacent lots. 

Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:44

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Options regarding the parking:

$4/car-$1 per occupant. Got four people? Park free.

Parking fees subsidize bus usage. So parking raises to $4, bus usage drops to $2.

CompactLuxuryFan > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:44

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Wayyyyy too complicated. The overhead of running this would cost way more than offset the increased revenue, especially with the bunch of loopholes you already put in.

My alternative: gradual parking rate hike up to 3X current rate  over 18 months. End of proposal. 

Nibby > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:45

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simple solution, ban all jukes, X6s, X4s, GLC and GLE coupes, and accord crosstours

Spanfeller is a twat > CompactLuxuryFan 10/18/2018 at 12:46

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It is rather complex, I agree. But I think that a computer program could run it. Again, it’s an overhead increase.

Increasing parking costs over time could be a solution. Maybe banning 1st year parking like in some US colleges? 

Spanfeller is a twat > Demon-Xanth knows how to operate a street. 10/18/2018 at 12:46

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I’d agree with that.... 

CB > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:46

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I think having a lowered bus rate all the time would definitely be a good idea. That way it’s not a once a week thing, but an all the time thing.

Spanfeller is a twat > Nibby 10/18/2018 at 12:47

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Also clean wranglers. 

My bird IS the word > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:48

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I think you are being an ass. school is expensive enough, fuck the environment I have no money.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:49

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for what its worth tho... making parking more expensive will just move all your drivers to the nearbyliest free parking :p

drivers are kinda stubborn that way

Spanfeller is a twat > CB 10/18/2018 at 12:51

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That’s really a great solution too, but considering weather, schedule, projects,  etc, I also think people shouldn’t be overwhelmed by the parking costs, specially since the bus routes don’t cover every student comfortably .

Ash78, voting early and often > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:51

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Yeah, even if you managed it via computer, compliance and understanding will be a problem because it requires humans to understand and follow the rules. If you generate more complaints over complexity, it could be retracted by popular demand.

Ban on first-year (and even second-year) students is not uncommon in many US schools, especially more urban locations.

Where do the Bimbo and Microsoft people  (and others) park? Maybe you could co-develop a parking system with them an achieve a broader goal.

Spanfeller is a twat > farscythe - makin da cawfee! 10/18/2018 at 12:52

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All the adjacent lots are still more expensive than the 2X hike

CB > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:53

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I’m not suggesting the bus pass price as the sole solution, because I know it’s not going to work for everyone. However, for the ones it does work for, it would be a good incentive to take the bus, which would help with parking congestion on campus.  

Spanfeller is a twat > Ash78, voting early and often 10/18/2018 at 12:54

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They have their own lots. I know IBM bans 1 year parking too, but due to space, not environmental efficiency.

Santa Fe has a huge transit issue, 56,000 people live here but 300,000 car trips are made every day here, the population influx overwhemls road capacity, and many people don’t have a good reason to use the public transport infrastructure already available (admittedly, it’s not significant) 

facw > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 12:58

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Honestly, that seems overly complex. I’d recommend an across the board price increase, with revenue put at least partly into subsidizing the bus passes.

If you actually want to have any chance to get things done, I’d go further and try to do the following:

Compare university parking rates with nearby commercial parking, if the university parking is cheaper, you can make the argument that the university shouldn’t be subsidizing problematic behavior.

Do not threaten those with power. Propose parking price increases for students and maybe staff, but do not try to change anything for faculty or the administration. Besides being politically expedient, it’s worth noting that students, who are normally renters, have much easier time adapting than people who own their homes.

See if your university has a master plan for expansion. If it does, it will almost certainly involve building on parking lots, which would then necessitate less on campus parking (or construction of new lots/garages). You can make the case that drawing down parking usage now is good for the long term health of the university.

Beyond making parking more expensive there are a few other things to consider:

Does the university have ample and secure bike parking. I don’t know if cycling to school/work is a viable option where you are, but knowing that you have somewhere to store your bike during the day where it won’t be storing is the third most important factor behind roads that won’t kill you and acceptable weather. It’s also really the only one that can be dealt with at reasonable speed and expense.

On campus housing. This one is obviously a long term thing, but more on campus housing for students will obviously reduce traffic. It also creates the expectation for students that they will live near campus, if you live in a dorm on campus for a year or two, living outside walking distance starts to feel very weird.

Spanfeller is a twat > My bird IS the word 10/18/2018 at 12:59

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But I’m saying bus fees should be lowered

The Dummy Gummy > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 13:05

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You still have general maintenance and audits. I’d honestly cut that plan in about an 1/8th. Simplicity is key when you do overhauls like this.

Increase parking on campus to subsidize the bus. Partner with the town and near by areas to change street parking to 2hr time zones. But you’re going to have a serious issue with the parking lots near by.

I also don’t see the need to penalize motorcyclist but they are way more efficient than cars and utilize less space.

Spanfeller is a twat > The Dummy Gummy 10/18/2018 at 13:10

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we don’t have emissions requirements for motorcycles; some bikes here pollute many times more than cars or busses do.

Street parking is strictly banned on weekdays in the adjacent areas and all the lots around the university are significantly more expensive.

But increasing parking is a a way to subsidize the bus, which is what the university should be doing

Spanfeller is a twat > facw 10/18/2018 at 13:11

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I’d need to review the statistics archive to see how many students are out of state and could potentially move to in or near campus housing.

Also those are very good notions! I’ll make sure not to fuck with the faculty! 

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 13:11

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ah.. well you may be on to something then

ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability > Nibby 10/18/2018 at 13:20

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I’ll turn up in my Juke NISMO, its basically a GT-R

My bird IS the word > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 13:36

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Ok, that’s way too confusing.

Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 14:00

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I think you really need to start an E-scooter or E-bike ride share, get all those 5 miles and less folks out of their cars and ridding bikes to campus. Maybe provide rental guns for safety. Yes, rental guns, great idea!

Spanfeller is a twat > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/18/2018 at 14:06

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I am unfamiliar with the joke here..... 

Nibby > ItalianJobR53 - now with added 'MERICA and unreliability 10/18/2018 at 14:08

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Highlander-Datsuns are Forever > Spanfeller is a twat 10/18/2018 at 14:13

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You have to put on your MAGA hat to understand this. I was thinking of the most ridiculous thing possible to rent and guns came to mind, especially in a dense urban area like Mexico City.

Spanfeller is a twat > Highlander-Datsuns are Forever 10/18/2018 at 14:14

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Oh of course.

But guns have a yuge carbon footprint, maybe tazers and lazer guns would do?

I bet many soul Cycles could be turned into shooting ranges; you shoot hipsters you know.