Changing Travel Behavior One Trip at a Time:Meeting the Challenge of the

Large Suburban University CampusUniversity of South Florida, Tampa

AASHE 2011 Conference & EXPO

Pittsburgh, PAOctober 10, 2011

Sara J. Hendricks, AICP,Senior Research Associate

University of South Florida, Tampa

USF’s 2011 STARS Gold Rating 67.01%Education & Research

70.32%

Co-curricular Ed. 18.00/18.00

Curriculum 35.66/55.00

Research 16.66/27.00

Planning, Admin. & Engagement

74.60%

Coordination & Planning

18.00/18.00

Diversity & Affordability

13.50/13.75

Human Resources 19.12/19.75

Investment 2.48/16.75

Public Engagement 21.50/31.75

Innovation 4.00/4.00

Operations 44.11%

Buildings 6.42/13.00

Climate 4.48/16.50

Dining Services 4.30/8.50

Energy 9.40/16.50

Grounds 2.75/3.00

Purchasing 2.00/7.50

Transportation 4.06/12.00

Waste 6.78/12.50

Water 3.81/10.25

1957 1995

2000 2005

Source: USF Facilities Planning and Construction, figure used with permission

Thumbnail overview of USF• Opened doors in 1960• Public research university• 232 degree programs across 11

colleges• $1.8 billion annual budget• $380 million in research

contracts/grants in FY 2008/09• Signed Climate Commitment

April 2008• Adopted a Campus and

Community Sustainability Policy in July 2010, included in 2010-2020 Campus master plan

• >40,000 students at main suburban campus

• 20,633 parking spaces on main campus

• Uneven parking lot utilization

• Wednesday pm peak parking utilization at 81.1%

• Friday p.m. peak parking utilization at 58.6%

• Year 2020 projected pm peak parking demand 92.5%

TRANSPORTATIONTRANSPORTATION

• Parking

• Network intersection improvements

• Mass Transit

• Car/van pooling

• Pedestrian & bicycle

• Golf Carts

Context: Challenges

• Tampa Bay area: one of the weakest economic recoveries: 11% unemployment

• Road widening projects• Climate change impacts• Lack of public support

for transit

• New Governor rejects federal funding for HSR

• Tampa Bay area rated among the worst places to walk and bicycle

• Obama halts tighter smog rule (ozone standard)

Context: Regional Collaboration Opportunities

Hillsborough Area Regional TransitCollaboration to introduce electric vehicle infrastructure

Context: Regional Collaboration Opportunities

Hillsborough Metropolitan Planning Organization And others…

• Tampa Bay Regional Transportation Authority

• Federal Transportation Reauthorization

• HART Bus Rapid Transit• Light Rail ???

Context: Local Government Collaboration Opportunities

City of Temple Terrace Bicycle Route Map

Citywide Multimodal Transportation DistrictCity of Temple Terrace, Florida

Map used with permission

Context: Local Government Collaboration Opportunities

University Area Community Plan And many others…

• Hillsborough MMTD• Road widening projects• Road safety audits• Transit oriented

development zoning overlays

A Closer Look at USF Transportation

Bicycle Sharing 0.25/0.25

Facilities for Bicyclists

0.25/0.25

Bicycle Plan 0.25/0.25

Mass Transit 0.25/0.25

Condensed Work Week

0.25/0.25

Telecommuting 0.25/0.25

Carpool Matching 0.25/0.25

Carpool Discount 0.25/0.25

Car Sharing 0.25/0.25

Campus Fleet 0.28/2.00

Student Commute Modal Split

1.15/4.00

Employee Commute Modal Split

0.38/3.00

Cash-Out Parking 0.00/0.25

Local Housing 0.00/0.25

Prohibiting Idling 0.00/0.25

Sustainability Framework of the Master Planning Process for Transportation

• Focused on the pedestrian, bicyclist, and transit user• Enhance air quality• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions• Create more community connection• Provide shade and seating along walkways• Reduce parking in the campus core, relocate parking in

the campus periphery while maintaining delivery and service access

• Improve on-campus public transportation options• Support mobility within the host region

USF Tampa Campus Master Plan 2010-2020 Update Source: USF Facilities Planning and Construction, figure used with permission

Bicycle Parking at Campus Dormitory

USF Tampa Campus Master Plan 2010-2020 Update Source: USF Facilities Planning and Construction, figure used with permission

USF Tampa Campus Master Plan 2010-2020 Update Source: USF Facilities Planning and Construction, figure used with permission

Current:• Planted over 2,000 trees in first 10

years of master plan• Xeriscape• Shde trees & benches to promote

walking• Bike racks with all new buildings &

parking garages

Future:• Improve/increase use of

native/indigenous plant materials• Shade trees• Incorporate current research

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Before…

After…

Programs, Services, and Community Engagement

• Zimride is funded jointly by USG, PATS, and Office of Sustainability

• HART UPASS• USF Bio-diesel-

fueled Bull Runner• Bull Tracker

Car Sharing

• Started service Sept 2009

• Membership ~200

• 4 vehicles

Rentals by Month(Jul 2009 to Sep 2011)

Sep-09

Nov-09

Jan-10

Mar-10

May-10Jul-1

0

Sep-10

Nov-10

Jan-11

Mar-11

May-11Jul-1

1

Sep-110

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Rentals

Cumul Rentals

Num

ber o

f Ren

tals

Cum

ulati

ve N

umbe

r of R

enta

ls

Bike/Ped Promotion

• “Borrow Our Bikes” free program

• Tampa BayCycle• Walkwise Pedestrian

Safety Education• Support implementation

of the Hillsborough Countywide Bicycle Safety Action Plan

USF Tampa CampusPercent Mode Share 2010

Commuter Drive alone

Carpool HART Bull Runner

Walk Bike

Students 73.1 8.5 2.7 7.6 2.3 4.3

Faculty 83.8 8.4 0.4 0.4 4.0 2.5

Staff 86.3 9.1 1.2 0.8 0.5 0.9

Abundant parking

Parking Goals and Objectives• Move parking to periphery of campus and pair with bike sharing• Provide on-street parking• Explore low-cost solutions: Restripe to expand capacity• Look for off-campus parking opportunities• Establish remote park-and-ride lots• Preferential parking for ridesharers and alt. fuel vehicles• Class scheduling to shave peaks off parking utilization• Consider parking restrictions for freshman that live on campus• Provide adequate parking, including 3 new multi-level parking

facilities • Build parking up to reclaim surface area for buildings or open

space

Transportation Demand Management

Any action or set of actions intended to influence the intensity, timing and spatial distribution of transportation demand for the purpose of reducing the impact of traffic or enhancing mobility options. (FHWA)

Measure success in increments

• Awareness• Understanding• Try commuter alternative for first time• Use commute alternative regularly• Maintain regular use of commute alternative

over time• Increase frequency of use• Ambassador

Travel Time (minutes)

• Faculty• Mean = 26.28• Std Dev 17.727• N = 804

• StaffMean =29.68• Std. Dev. = 15.865• N= 1,137

• Student• Mean: 24.89• Std. Dev. = 33.562• N= 1,197

Commute Distance (miles)• Faculty• Mean = 13.85• Std Dev 17.798• N = 804

• Staff• Mean =14.64• Std. Dev. = 12.097• N= 1,133

• Student• Mean: 13.04• Std. Dev. = 32.322• N= 1,176

Importance of Incentives

Challenges Ahead

• Educate decision makers• Secure administrative support• Make extra effort to know what others are

doing• Consider trade-offs with longer term

perspective• Market alternative transportation effectively• Register campus community to vote

For more information

• USF Facilities Planning and Construction, Sustainability web page

• http://usfweb2.usf.edu/facilitiesplan/FPC/SACS/sustainhome.html

• USF Center for Urban Transportation Research web site

• http://www.cutr.usf.edu • National Center for Transit Research at USF• http://www.nctr.usf.edu

Thank You

Sara Hendricks, AICPSenior Research AssociateCenter for Urban Transportation ResearchUniversity of South FloridaCollege of Engineering4202 East Fowler Avenue, CUT100Tampa, FL 33620-5375813-974-9801hendricks@cutr.usf.edu