CLEMSON UNIVERSITY PARKING
An Analysis and Proposal on the Feasibility of a Parking Garage
PREPARED FOR:
Clemson University Board of Trustees
December 11, 2001
October 25, 2001
Dear Board Members:
The following report was prepared as an investigation of the current parking situation on Campus at Clemson University. A critical examination was made of the current situation including positive and negative aspects. The report investigates the causes of the current negative aspects, with respect to the Master Plan, and searches for a plausible solution. The main goal of the report was to investigate the feasibility of building a parking garage somewhere on campus and whether or not it would actually benefit the situation. If any further investigation or clarification is needed, please feel free to contact us.
Sincerely,
the terraphonic team
Aaron Bowman, AIA, architect
Michael McKinney, AIA, architect
Nichole Fanning, AMA, head of marketing
CONTENTS
LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL……………………………………………………..………ii
ABSTRACT…………………………………………………………………………………iv
INTRODUCTION…………………………………………………………………………..1
DATA………………………………………………………………………………………..2
EXISTING CONDITIONS…………………………………………………………….....2
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE MASTER PLAN…….………………….3
FEASABILITY STUDY ……………………………………………………………………...7
SURFACE LOTS VERSUS PARKING STRUCTURES………………………………………….7
CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS……………………………………………………………7
WHAT SIZE STRUCTURE IS NEEDED?..………………………………………………………..8
HOW WOULD THE PROJECT BE FINANCED?...... 8
EAST CAMPUS SITES………………………………………………………………………………9
WEST CAMPUS SITES…………………………………………………………………………….10
CONCLUSION……………………………………………………………………………..11
APPENDIX A.……………………………………………………………………………...12
APPENDIX B……………………………………………………………………………….13
APPENDIX C……………………………………………………………………………….14
APPENDIX D……………………………………………………………………………….16
APPENDIX E……………………………………………………………………………….17
1
Abstract
This report begins by examining the current parking situation on campus at Clemson University. There is an in-depth investigation of parking statistics which reveals the fact that the parking provided is inadequate for the current needs. The report also discusses the Master Plan for the campus, which contains several clauses that highly restrict zoning on campus. These issues will all have to be taken into consideration when examining the feasibility of a parking garage.
The next part of the report is a feasibility study of parking garages. It examines cost, location, and construction time for several different options. Ultimately, the conclusion of the report is that a parking garage on campus is a feasible option for partial alleviation of the university’s parking problems.
CLEMSON UNIVERSITY PARKING
An Analysis and Proposal on the Feasibility of a Parking Garage
INTRODUCTION
This report is an investigation of the current parking situation on campus and a feasibility study of whether or not a parking garage will help to alleviate the current problems. Concentration was focused on the following areas: the current parking situation at Clemson, with an investigation of specific parking statistics; and the Master Plan of the campus, and its effect on the parking situation. Investigation was done into specific areas of the Master Plan such as green space issues, small town atmosphere issues, and most importantly the walking campus issue. This report thoroughly investigates all these areas and discusses their affect on campus with regards to parking.
The report then moves on to a feasibility study of parking garages. The study examines different types of parking garages, discusses costs involved with each, and examines possible existing sites on campus where garages could be easily implemented.
As research for this report, in-depth investigation into the nature of Clemson’s Master Plan was completed as was research of parking statistics and other parking related issues. Extensive research was also conducted on existing types of parking structures, both surface lots and parking structures. Additional images and information on certain parking related issues has been included in the appendices following the report.
DATA SECTION
EXISTING CONDITIONS
Clemson University is an extremely large public university. According to recent statistics, there are 16,500 students enrolled at the university. 6,707 of these students are on-campus residents, and the other 9,793 students are commuters. Approximately 62% of the commuters have purchased a parking permit for the current school year.
Clemson has property and employees dispersed across the state, therefore an accurate employee count for solely the Clemson area was difficult to obtain. However, 3,496 employee parking permits were purchased for the current school year.
There is also visitor parking available on campus. Currently, there are 291 available visitor spaces. Soon, this number will be reduced to 270. There are also several parking areas on campus available to visitors that are not included in these numbers. Some of these areas include the State Botanical Gardens, the Wren House, and the Madren Center. These areas provide several hundred additional visitor parking spaces. However, these locations all fall at extreme ends of the campus. They are in no way situated near the center of campus where the core of the “classroom” buildings is located.
Accessible parking areas for disabled individuals are also available. These parking spaces are marked by signs or with the international disability access symbol on the pavement. Only vehicles displaying a handicapped license plate or hang tag are allowed to park in these available spaces. In addition to these spaces, anyone with a disability permit can park in employee, student, service vehicle, or timed spaces at any time during the day. The university has made every effort to ensure that anyone with a disability has easy access to all of its buildings, however even handicap parking is fairly inadequate and inconveniently located.
The main handicap parking lot for the “campus core” is located behind the library, in between Strode tower and Daniel Hall. It is literally stuck in between two buildings. The university is doing it’s best to provide for the disabled, however it simply doesn’t have enough land inside the heart of campus to build a parking lot which would satisfy everyone’s needs.
There are 12,369 parking spaces on campus. Approximately 160 of these spaces are currently closed due to on-going construction projects. Factoring in the number of employees and students who must commute to work everyday, and considering the on campus numbers, there are approximately 1.7 cars for every space on campus.
POSITIVE AND NEGATIVE ASPECTS OF THE MASTER PLAN
There are many good and bad aspects of parking on Clemson's campus. One of the main issues one has to deal with when discussing any architectural project on Clemson’s campus is the Master Plan for the campus. Clemson University is a Land Grant institution, which means that Thomas Green Clemson setup a series of regulations and rules which were to be implemented into the overall layout and operation of the university. The main one of these was the “green space” clause.
There is a large “green corridor” which runs through the heart of campus (see image below). Spaces within this corridor are strictly regulated. Essentially, the university is required to maintain this as undeveloped “green space.” This makes for a very scenic and beautiful campus; however it greatly restricts land available for development. Clemson is required to maintain a certain number of trees within this space, and campus as a whole. In essence, Clemson is required to maintain not only a suburban, but actually a pastoral feel for the campus.
Parking
Zones
Green corridor
The next major clause one has to deal with in the Master Plan is the “small town atmosphere” clause. Clemson is required, in all projects built on campus or anywhere in the community, to maintain the “small college town atmosphere.” The town of Clemson, South Carolina actually has fewer people in it than there are students enrolled at the University. As the Master Plan for the campus was developed, it was decided that Clemson would always strive to maintain that small college town atmosphere. Inherent in this decision, is the fact that basically there can be no tall buildings on campus. There is a restriction to the height of all buildings on campus, which generally falls around 60-70’, except for a few exceptions such as Tillman Hall. Tillman, however, is a historical landmark and considered part of Clemson’s heritage. Therefore, it is exempt from these regulations.
Building density is also restricted. In order to avoid increasing density of buildings on campus, a restriction was placed on how close buildings can actually sit. It was feared that too many buildings would be built too close and the green space would slowly be taken over. This spacing is easily noted as one walks around campus. It clearly is not an urban environment. There is a significant distance between most buildings and when buildings are clumped together, as with Martin, Kinard, and Daniel Halls, they tend to get spread out very linearly to avoid becoming too imposing.
These clauses are the two main sources for zoning regulations on campus. Over time, both of them have proven effective in preserving the natural beauty of campus. Clemson is well known for its beautiful campus, and especially for its large green expanses in the interior, which would not be possible without these clauses. These clauses, however, do not directly effect the parking situation, as they deal more with atmospheric and contextual conditions on campus. However, those clauses directly affect another clause in the Master Plan. It was decided in the early 1900’s when the Master Plan was first drafted that Clemson would be setup as a “walking” campus. It was decided that a ten minute walk was not unreasonable between fairly distant ends of campus. This ten minute idea was basically restricted to the heart of campus, however, because originally the outer areas were mostly agricultural fields. It was assumed that the core, or heart of campus, was where the academic buildings, such as classrooms, would remain. However, over time the university has grown and expanded out. It is now setup in a “bull’s-eye” pattern of concentric circles (see image 1). Originally the ten minute walk was reasonable within the academic area. However, as the areas spread out concentrically, the walking distance was slowly increased. This coupled with the fact that the interior spaces on campus are restricted by the green space and building density regulations led to the parking being pushed to the exterior (see image above).
The image below is a graphic from Clemson University’s Master Plan website which depicts all available parking in the campus (in red). At first glance, it appears to be a very dense amount of parking, with plenty available along all streets on the interior of campus. However, most of the streets inside campus are spots where students are not allowed to park. Further more, they often highlight entire streets when there may be only five to ten spaces along its entire length. However, the image referred to on the previous page, shows a more accurate depiction of parking both for resident and commuters on campus. The large grey-blue area represents parking on this diagram. Immediately one notices that it is all pushed to the outermost edge of campus. The cars are totally isolated from any sort of interaction within the heart of campus. This is an effective means of controlling traffic and of keeping the green space; however it is extremely inconvenient for anyone who does not live on campus. It is expected that all commuters and residents alike will park on these outer fringes and walk back into campus. The ten minute walk has been totally lost as people are now forced to drive into campus, park on the very exterior and then walk back to the core. The main problem with this idea is that it originated in a time when automobiles were much less prevalent than they are today. In today’s society, cars are an essential mode of transportation, and much established in their usage.
Research was done on exactly how long it takes one to go from typical parking lots to the library, which is the center of campus and the academic core. The research took the following into consideration: one would be walking at a reasonable pace, with a backpack and a few books, from roughly the center row of the lot. The times are as follows
22 to 26 minutes from R-1
26 to 32 minutes from Kite Hill
16 to 20 minutes from the commuter lots behind Lee Hall
20 to 24 minutes from R-2
20 to 24 minutes from R-3
It is obvious that these times are extremely inefficient and much longer than ten minutes. It is entirely implausible for the university to say it is providing for the students’ needs when it forces them to arrive for class thirty minutes early simply to have time to walk to class.
Due to the community’s demand and desire for public transportation, the university implemented the Clemson Area Transit system. This system is available to anyone, including students, faculty, staff, visitors, or any local residents, free of charge. The funding comes from Pickens County, South Carolina Department of Transportation and University support. There are more than 1,000 riders per month on the CAT buses. Problems with the CAT bus system include the extremely high demand for rides from commuters and other students who do not have time to walk. The CAT buses are restricted to an extremely tight schedule (Appendix A and B) which too often causes students to arrive to their classes late if they happen to miss the bus or if the bus is full. The availability of only one bus for the east side of campus greatly impairs many students’ ability to arrive to class on time. Many students arrive on campus thirty minutes before their classes start and still are unable to arrive at class on time.
On west campus, there are three buses making rounds which effectively cover this area. The buses are generally punctual; however there are several occasions when they run behind schedule. Many students depend on the buses to get them to class on time; on days such as these, students are helpless. While Clemson is to be applauded in its efforts to help ameliorate the current situation, it needs to find an absolutely dependable method of doing so. The CAT bus system, thus far, has proven to be fairly dependable, but not absolute.
These issues along with several others will have to be addressed if Clemson is to rectify its parking situation. It has often been speculated that if a parking garage was built on campus it would satisfy the needs of everyone and correct the problem. Location and cost are key factors in a structure such as this. However, it is very difficult to choose a site which will satisfy and serve the entire campus due to its inherent sprawling nature.
FEASIBILITY STUDY
SURFACE LOTS VERSUS PARKING STRUCTURES
Clemson University is a large suburban campus that has been able to maintain its pastoral academic core. This has been achieved, as previously discussed, by restricting the large majority of service activities, including parking, to its perimeter. The inner core has been maintained but at the expense of the surrounding campus, as all of these lots are surface lots that cover a majority of the campus perimeter in asphalt. A well-designed campus integrates accessibility and circulation into its overall plan in such a way that it is unobtrusive and ultimately an asset to the campus as a whole. It is possible to maintain the current aesthetic of the campus and still provide convenient parking within the inner campus.
Surface lots are often considered the best alternative from a financial point of view, as they are preserved as inexpensive to construct. On the contrary, surface lots cost an average of 1700 dollars per space for lots in excess of 100 spaces. The average cost for lots under 100 spaces is approximately 3000 dollars per space. These figures increase when areas for landscaping are included in the plan in an attempt to interrupt the vast expanse of paving. Parking structures cost, on average, 9000 dollars per space with variation depending on the construction system and overall appearance. While the cost is higher, the density is such that less land area is occupied making it possible to locate such a facility within the context of the inner campus. When located outside the core, the structure remains a viable option due to the shear number of spaces that are provided in a minimal area.
CONSTRUCTION CONSIDERATIONS
The cost of a project is traditionally the dominant factor that controls its overall design. Budget will determine the building system used which in-turn greatly influences the appearance of the building. Certain construction systems limit the options of how the final project will look. In the context of Clemson University, appearance is a critical issue that must be carefully considered in order to preserve the Clemson aesthetic.
The most common construction system of parking facilities is reinforced concrete. This system includes cast in place columns, pre-cast beams, and a pre-cast or cast in place floor slab. This system is highly efficient in terms of parking structures as it offers large spans with a relatively low cost. A negative aspect of this system is slow construction, as the concrete for each level must sufficiently cure before construction of the next level may begin. At least ten months would be required to complete construction. Depending on the site selected, this could mean a reduction in the current number of spaces available, further complicating the parking situation.