printable versionIn future, drivers can expect more multilevel parking
BY MICHAEL PEÑA
The recently resurfaced parking lot near Lake Lagunita is a popular option for C-permit holders. The lot fills up faster these days due to an array of construction projects on the south side of campus, Hamilton said.
On a campus where rigorous discourse is encouraged on issues ranging from international security to Internet freedoms, there's one topic that, while not necessarily central to civilization, is discussed just as passionately: parking.
It may not be the bailiwick of senior fellows, faculty or foremost experts in this field or that. But for any employee who has been at Stanford for a few years, and especially those who have been here longer, parking is one subject that is discussed with an air of authority and experience.
Increasingly, however, that experience seems to be a negative one. A widespread notion among staff—in particular, those who park in C-permit spaces—is that they are given no consideration when the university reconfigures parking, while choice spots are reserved for A-permit holders.
While it is true that those with A stickers will be more likely to park closer to their offices because of the premium they pay—about 60 percent more than the cost of a year-long C permit—the notion that the university is not fairly accommodating commuters across all permit types is simply not the case, according to Brodie Hamilton, director of Parking and Transportation Services (P&TS).
"The long and the short of it is we have, to date, had sufficient parking on campus, and for the foreseeable future will continue to have sufficient parking on campus," Hamilton said. "However, those parking spaces may not be as close to an individual's destination as they have been in the past."
It is that expectation, perhaps more than any other factor, that leads to the perception that there's nowhere to park on campus. At Stanford, where the length of service for a longtime staffer can be three or four times what it is for a tenured employee in high-tech and other fast-paced fields, change can seem more disruptive and harder to accept, some officials say.
"We're creatures of habit," said Phillip Garcia, who heads parking services for P&TS. "We have our parking space. Our parking space has always been in this place."
One of the biggest reasons behind all the changes is Stanford's need to grow. Related challenges include complying with caps on the pace of construction, while at the same time preserving open space and the natural beauty of the core campus. President John Hennessy explained this balancing act in his regular column in Stanford magazine last spring.
Hennessy prefaced his thoughts with a sentiment that Jane Stanford penned in 1904 about not being afraid "to outgrow old thoughts and ways, and dare to think on new lines." Hennessy then explained in his column that a great university must have facilities that are equipped for the times, pointing to Wallenberg Hall and the Clark Center as examples. New construction, however, is strictly controlled by the county-issued General Use Permit and the premium on open space, Hennessy wrote.
"There are other changes we will have to face in the coming years as we confront these questions," Hennessy wrote. "We also must begin to find solutions to parking needs that do not rely on low-density surface lots but instead make more use of parking structures."
One such structure will hold the four levels of underground parking that currently are being built under Wilbur Field. The structure is expected to open in January 2008 with 1,227 stalls to accommodate Munger Housing residents and replenish displaced parking from the closure of the Stern, Law School and Lane A lots, as well as lost inventory along Nathan Abbott Way.
When the university needs new facilities, Hamilton said, surface lots are often the best locations to build them—especially those within the areas of campus where new construction is restricted. A certain number of stalls always will be available for those who want to pay to park closer to their offices. But in the years ahead, the bulk of Stanford's parking inventory gradually will migrate to multilevel structures that are more on the periphery, Hamilton said.
Besides major construction projects such as Munger and the Environment and Energy Building, and partially as a result of them, relocations and renovations have led to the takeover of other surface lots. Historic homes displaced by construction of the Munger complex now occupy the former site of more than 100 A spaces behind Tresidder Union. At the same time, surface lots at Santa Teresa Street and Lomita Drive and Lot 81 by the Eating Clubs now accommodate trailers for staff and offices displaced by the renovation of Old Union.
On any given day, approximately 18,000 cars park on campus, which has a total of 22,000 parking spaces. Hamilton said most of the surplus stalls are C spaces, and when construction or relocation projects take out A spaces and lead to the conversion of C spaces to A's further in, C-permit holders are generally pushed out to the more outlying stalls.
And with a multitude of projects happening simultaneously, Hamilton said that is probably why the pain of parking feels a lot sharper these days—especially in the south and lower west sectors of campus.
So this is what it has come down to for the C-permit holder: Running late one morning, a commuter arrives on campus at 10 a.m. First, he circles Lot 25, along Panama Street at Via Ortega, because he has gotten lucky there at that hour once or twice before. But not this time.
Next, he drives across the street and winds all the way up and back down Parking Structure 2. Still nothing, and now it's 10:15. So he drives up to the Knoll, another spot where he occasionally finds parking in a pinch. This time, however, no dice. His first meeting isn't until 11, but he is already fuming.
The solution, Hamilton and Garcia suggested, would have been to call P&TS at 723-9362 and let the customer-service staff walk him through several options. They know approximately when the various lots fill up and where parking might still be available after a certain time. The department bases its estimates on parking data compiled quarterly with the help of Stanford police who count cars in the different lots.
For more complex questions, customer-service staff also can transfer a caller to parking-operations personnel such as Garcia: "I would just recommend that they call our main number," he said. "We will make ourselves available, or we'll get back to them as soon as we can."
Of course, anyone who has commuted to campus even semi-regularly over the past two years will know just as well which lots are full by a given hour. But Hamilton still urged people to call so staff can present them with a range of options. For instance, that same driver might not have known that plenty of parking was available at a structure farther away from his office but where a Marguerite shuttle stops regularly en route to the inner campus.
"If you come mid-morning, then maybe a better option is to park farther away, right from the get go and take Marguerite in, instead of taking the time to kind of wander around and experience the frustration associated with not finding a place where you used to park," Hamilton said. "If you still choose to come to that same lot and circle for 15 to 20 minutes, that's your choice. But realize, here's another option that may get you to your worksite a lot faster."
There may be fewer instances of that sort of frustration as more employees take public transit to work. Over the past year, ridership on Marguerite buses increased by 18 percent, and during peak hours—from 7 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m.—there's been 28 percent growth, Hamilton said. His office continues to offer cash and prize incentives to commuters who take Caltrain, BART, buses or bikes through the Commute Club.
P&TS also sends out various mailers and an e-newsletter. The office also keeps the "construction-related impacts" section of its website current. Timetables for the Marguerite routes and other forms of mass transit are widely available as well. But for the longtime car driver, Garcia said all that information might be a bit overwhelming. So he recommends commuters call in so staff can come up with a solution that is tailored specifically for that individual—in much the same way that 511.org assists residents in the Bay Area.
But as Hennessy wrote, the challenge for Stanford is that remaining competitive and dynamic academically occasionally requires growth, which increasingly impacts parking and other space issues. And when it comes to reconfiguring parking spaces, Hamilton said the university must stay true to the commitment it has made to A- and C- permit holders. Meanwhile, overarching limits on new construction, traffic levels and the effort to preserve the Farm's natural assets must also be factored into the equation.