Current Mobility

We asked questions to gain insight into faculty and staff current mobility. This section contains the responses to questions about access to motor vehicles, ownership of parking permits, attitudes toward parking convenience and cost.

Access to Vehicle and Parking

Most of the faculty and staff surveyed have access to a vehicle (92 percent) (Figure 6). This accessibility may seem imperative to some faculty and staff. They may need access to an automobile in case of emergencies such as ill children, etc. Addressing these emergencies without an automobile can be difficult so it is understandable why some faculty and staff rely on their autos. Further, some faculty teach courses certain hours of the day allowing time to run errands during their day, making their auto even more appealing. Nearly 93 percent of the faculty and staff indicated they own a parking permit (Figure 6), which is slightly higher than the number who indicated they have a vehicle.

We probed to learn how faculty and staff felt about the convenience and cost of parking on campus. We asked them to rate both parking convenience and parking costs. They could rate them as either very good, good, neutral, poor or very poor. For reporting purposes, we combined very good and good, and also very poor and poor. Nearly 43 percent of the faculty and staff feel parking convenience on campus is very good or good while 25 percent feel that parking convenience is very poor or poor, with 31 percent being neutral (Figure 7). The individuals who perceive parking convenience as poor may park a great distance from their building or experience over-crowding in their lot, making it difficult to find a parking spot.

Forty-five percent of the respondents viewed parking costs as very good or good while 18 percent felt parking costs are very poor or poor, and 31 percent viewed them as neutral (Figure 8). Parking permits at NDSU cost $60 annually, which is relatively inexpensive compared to other campus parking that can cost more than $400 annually.² There are some mixed feelings with regard to parking convenience and costs. Some good planning on the part of NDSU in regards to transit could potentially reduce the demand for parking. Some individuals may be enticed to ride public transportation or car pool, particularly if there is convenient service for them. This is further justification for mapping where faculty and staff live, and trying to develop the best MAT routes to serve their residential areas. This shift would help reduce the demand for parking and address problems of over-crowded lots (e.g., PP).

Campus Circulator

The NDSU campus Circulator is in its second year serving the campus. It serves the campus to move students, faculty and staff between the T-Lot, the Technology Park, the Wellness Center and the Memorial Union/Library area. We asked the faculty and staff some questions to determine if they are making use of the Circulator or if they have suggestions to modify the service to better meet their needs.

With a few modifications, we may entice the faculty and staff to ride the Circulator. Sixty-one percent reported familiarity with the campus Circulator, but only eight percent reported using it (Figure 9). Faculty and staff certainly may not need to use the Circulator as much as students do, however, they may be able to take advantage of it more often. Faculty and staff working in the Technology Park may prefer to jump in their vehicle and go off-campus for lunch yet they could easily take the Circulator, which stops near the Memorial Union, for lunch or to attend meetings elsewhere on campus. Several faculty and staff wrote in comments they did not know the schedule of the Circulator nor the route. More faculty and staff may begin to ride the Circulator with some additional marketing such as flyers introducing the service and making the routes and schedules readily accessible. The route and schedule is on the NDSU Web page, however, a more direct link or banner would draw attention to the service.

Sixteen percent of the respondents indicated they would like the Circulator to stop at additional on-campus locations. These locations mentioned include: Alumni Center, Arby's, Architecture Building, NDSU Downtown, Old Main, Skills & Technology Training Center (on 19th Avenue) and parking lots.

Faculty and staff were also asked how long they would be willing to wait for the Circulator and 60 percent reported they would wait for seven minutes while 30 percent reported they would wait for up to 10 minutes. The willingness of faculty and staff to wait declines after 10 minutes. However, five percent are willing to wait up to 15 minutes (Figure 10). In general, many people can walk to many locations on campus within 10 minutes; therefore, they will not want to wait long for the Circulator. It is important to meet the expectations and needs with a short wait time for the next round of the Circulator. Last year the Circulator route took approximately 10 minutes. However, the route was expanded and the time frame expanded to approximately 15 minutes. This is longer than faculty and staff indicated they are willing to wait for the Circulator.

Distance Willing to Walk Given Temperature

We asked faculty and staff the distance they are willing to walk in above freezing temperatures and below freezing temperatures. The numbers varied substantially. In above freezing temperatures 32 percent were willing to walk between 0.25 to 0.50 miles and 36 percent were willing to walk between 0.5 to one mile (Figure 11). However, when temperatures plummet to below freezing 59 percent of respondents are willing to walk less than 0.25 miles. Certainly the Circulator seems to have more appeal during the winter months when the temperatures can be below freezing for weeks and even months.

Figure 11. Distance Willing to Walk Given Temperature