University launches campus parking and transportation planning effort

20 Aug 2015

Bicyclists and vehicles along Washington Street — Campus bicycle, vehicle, and pedestrian traffic along with parking will be examined by the study.

Virginia Tech is launching a proactive planning effort to identify potential long-term solutions to campus parking and transportation issues.

It’s no secret that the interaction of pedestrians, bicyclists, buses, and other vehicles can make traveling around campus a challenge. In addition, many on campus face the sometimes difficult task of finding convenient parking. Those challenges will only increase as the campus continues to grow.

“We want to ensure our transportation networks are safe and effective, and that our parking system is fair and reasonable. The parking and transportation master plan will examine the current situation on campus and make recommendations based on anticipated changes and growth. It will guide the university for at least the next decade,” said Sherwood Wilson, vice president for administration.

The first step of the planning process was a parking and transportation survey conducted in December by the Virginia Tech Center for Survey Research.

More than 9,800 members of the university community responded to the survey. Results are still being analyzed, but an early review of the survey found:

Almost 60 percent of the survey respondents reported that they commute to campus using a vehicle, while 21 percent commute by bus, 11 percent walk, and 5 percent bicycle.
71 percent of staff members indicated they have a commute of seven miles or more, compared to 4 percent of undergraduate students.
Nearly 60 percent of respondents think the current system is an effective way to assign parking spaces.

Survey results will be used to help develop the parking and transportation master plan, which is expected to be completed by next spring.

As part of the planning process, transportation professionals will analyze existing campus pedestrian, bicycle, and vehicle traffic patterns and determine how planned changes and growth might affect their safety and efficiency. In addition, they will examine parking demand and availability and provide recommendations based on expected campus growth. Also, they will examine the effectiveness of the current parking pass system.

Planners will solicit input from the Virginia Tech community throughout the process.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 240 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 31,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $513 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.