An Opportunity of a Lifetime to Change the Whole Parking Set-Up in Their Universities - Research Paper Example

Executive summary Car parking is a sensitive issue in the lives of people that regularly use cars and any other forms of vehicles. More often than not, complaints have arisen in relation to the allocation of parking spaces. The bone of contention concerns the exorbitant pricing of this service or the mere unavailability of such parking space due to the limited nature of land. This problem has however not been restricted to the confines of the cities. All institutional avenues have got themselves in this predicament. A major institution facing this parking space crisis is the university. Universities have huge populations due to their big workforces and the student group. As a result, there are always concerns as to how best this population can be accommodated. It is clear that land is a limited resource. Funds are also another constraint in addressing this problem. In addition to these, there are the problems of responsibility. Students do not feel obligated to contribute towards finding a solution. The truth of the matter is that they are the most affected. So it is their primary responsibility to rise up and be counted on the resolution front. As this paper finds out, it will take the participation of various groups to solve the parking problem. But it should be realized that students who bear the blunt of this have a chance to get themselves out of it. Through a system of contributing to a parking scheme strategy, students now have an opportunity of a lifetime to change the whole parking set-up in their universities. Though this can be achieved through the input of students, the other parties to this like the administration and the university staff have a role to play. In a nutshell, this requires a concerted effort to be successful. It should not be assumed however that it is going to be a ride. Several challenges abound that need to be diligently negotiated on the way to success. Introduction The Harvard University has a large number of students and staff and the most prevalent location is on the main campus, the Harvard school plays a major role in conditioning the environs transport patterns. There are currently an approximated 2 000 parking places on the chief campus. The City Campus vision has focused attention on re-developing and is engaged in a progressive construction program that will culminate in the formation of a green heart in the campus. In order to achieve this aim there would be need to have a fundamental overhaul of the vehicles parking arrangement. A watchful evaluation of the performance of the car parking revealed that usually there are enough slots. On the other hand, at busy times, for the most part mid sunrise in the autumn period, disappointments can occur as drivers chase for the a small number of the remaining spaces. This state of affairs will become further acute in the near future as fresh buildings are being constructed. The students complain to be in complete lack of parking facilities (President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1). A university car parking place is supposed to cater for the needs of: staff, students and visitors. Due to the usual high number of individuals that are in need of such space, it becomes necessary for regulations regarding car park use to be drafted and made available to all concerned parties. In order to stream-line the use of car park services, we ought to have designated parking lots for every category. It is notable though that the Harvard University has got this in place. This will help minimize confusions that may arise from unordered and unwarranted parking of vehicles. Every university or any other institution of learning needs a clear policy guideline to ensure continuity in its operations. Such a plan should clearly spell out the rules and regulations regarding parking facilities. Harvard University Parking Services give support to the University mission through collaborative measures that allow for, fairness, flexibility, mutual respect and sensitivity. All members of the university, the academic teaching staff, students, and guests are required to make applications for licensing in order to secure a parking place. However, the parking fees are too high and students have been price-tied resulting to them seeking exit options from college parking facilities. Students are forced to use public means to attend classes. While I applaud the Harvard university measures on controlling their traffic, several issues need to be addressed. High pricing of the parking space amounts to unfair treatment to the students. In as much as the university wants to control its operations, there is need to mind other concerned parties’ welfare. It is worth noting that the Harvard school is not in any way trying to impeach on student rights. It is the conditions that have occasioned this scenario (President and Fellows of Harvard College, 1). There are various options regarding how charges should be imposed. The first one is by introducing a fixed daily charge, secondly, an annual charge that varies depending on some factors like emissions can also be explored and finally, one can call for a car sharing scheme. This will save time, money, and protect the environment. However, different zoning ought to be introduced so as to accommodate all needy cases. Depending on the chosen place to park, charges should be discriminative in terms of groupings of the university community. We can go for four different locations at the university. In the first location, a varied annual charge should be payable to the university authorities. In the second place, a monthly cost should be charged. Thirdly, a ten dollar charge must be put in place to affect everybody that uses the parking facilities. Finally, a daily fixed fee of a round 20 dollars should be imposed. The needs of the people should be the overriding consideration while allocating permits to secure a parking space. Though it is agreeable that needs differ, a mechanism should be put in place that identifies and ranks them in an open manner. This will help eliminate issues to deal with protestation on the basis of discrimination. It is advisable to consider issues such as: the use of the vehicle, the distance involved, ease and availability of alternative means of transport like the public system, environmental friendliness of the vehicle, seniority of the offices, and the likelihood of sharing cars. According to me, I would advocate for the construction of new storey parking lots so as to be in synchrony with the limited nature of land. To effect these changes, twenty five thousand dollars is not enough money to introduce such wide ranging alterations into the university parking system. In light of this, different money raising methods need to be sought. The first one is cost sharing. In this system, all those that stand to benefit from the development of an all encompassing car park should be encouraged to pay a part of the required funds. This one though may lead to refusals from some quarters especially the student community. But this does not need to be an issue if dialogue is used to buy the support of the students. To get the support of the students, I would propose that each student becomes a partner in this car parking scheme. This will be done in a shareholding manner such that everybody’s contribution will constitute the partnership value. However this should not be limited to students only. Members of staff should also be enjoined into this scheme. Overly, this should be done on a willingness basis for it to garner the much needed support in order to make it a success. Another option would be to borrow this money from commercial banks or building societies. This approach may however prove to be expensive in the end because of high interest rates that bank loans attract. But in the long-run the high cost of resurfacing the loan will be offset by the fees that are charged on the parking facilities. The success of this plan to revise the parking system in order to accommodate all special needs will take time and the good-will of the university administration. After raising the requisite money, work should begin immediately by enlisting the services of surveyors and construction engineers to start the work. But as indicated earlier this only takes effect after getting the support of the affected community. Challenges though cannot be ruled out. Given that space is not big enough to engage in new constructions, an option like putting up storey buildings is supposed to be encouraged so as to save on costs that may be occasioned by the need to purchase alternative land. The estimated new constructions are expected to accommodate an additional double the current number of vehicles. This will in effect greatly reduce the costs involved in parking while at the same time offering space to other marginalized groups in parking a chance to enjoy these facilities. It had earlier been realized that parking is extremely expensive and thus hugely prohibitive, in view of this; the new system will not only redress the current unfairness as it will also offer students a chance to decide their own fees. In this industry of offering parking facilities, there is much competition in that several other institutions like town and city councils also provide these services. In view of this, the onus lies with this plan to provide competitive services so as to emerge among the top providers. To achieve this, charges should be harmonized or be lowered to reflect the current market rates. It is worth noting in this case that, given the inability of the rival groups to provide these facilities inside the campus, the university scheme is bound to reap unprecedented profit margins. There is no one of a rational ability that would want to park there car in town if their campus can provide the same facilities at a reasonably competitive price. It will also need clever marketing to convince the university community on the necessity of using closer facilities. If the student and the staff community were the major contributors to this scheme and thus are partners, it would be a very attractive package whereby a deal can be struck to reconcile accounts on a certain period of time. This follows that, students can agree not to pay daily parking charges and instead keep records which will be used to reconcile the amount owed to the scheme from parking services and the amount the parking scheme is required to pay to the student as a dividend. While doing this reconciliation, measures should be made to ensure that the scheme is not suffocated. The scheme’s account should be healthy and in a position to provide for operational costs and any other new equipment that may be needed. To maximize on the scheme returns, the parking arena can also be opened to the outside world. Workers in buildings next to the university may find it convenient to park in campus due to reasons that range from security to matters of preference. However, the inclination for the working class people to offer more money should not be used to gain undue advantage in parking space allocation. The norm should be that students and staff members be the first ones on the allocation priority list. No member of the university should be denied a parking place just because it is being reserved for outsiders. This is likely to be a major concern given there are instances when the unexpected may happen and thus students may find themselves without a parking space. This should be guarded against so as to make it clear on the conditions under which such scenarios may arise and the range of options that are available to the affected party. In making the scheme operational, several factors need to be looked into. It is of prime value that the parking staff be competently recruited to office. Such personnel must be able to adequately handle all issues that may arise during the course of their duty. This group should comprise public relations experts who are in a position to positively exhibit the good standing of the university. There handling of cases should also reflect the university stature. In an event that students are temporarily on holiday, then, the campus parking grounds can be made available for higher to private entities. This will go along way in offsetting the high constructions costs that may have been incurred. However, the necessary conditions should be made so that any damages incurred as a result of a private entity activity is mitigated. While entering an agreement to lease a property all the conditions must be stipulated to protect this scheme’s property. On the financial aspect of the company, it is bound to be very uncomfortable at the onset of a scheme of this magnitude. While raising capital, it requires that money that was maybe meant for something is taken to a different use. In this case, money from the banks or student contributions will appear on the credit side of the company’s balance sheet. But when the construction is complete and income starts getting generated, things will take a turn. The revenue from the parking charges will begin counter-balancing the capital used. This trend will go ahead for years before the break even point is achieved. However, it should be noted that there are no guarantees in this because it depends on whether there has been sound management or not. In coming up with this parking scheme, different cadres of human resource will be called upon. While raising capital, we will need the input of accountants, in mobilizing support from the students, there is need for a political scientist or a motivational speaker, in the construction process, the services of qualified surveyors and building engineers are a must have, and finally, the management aspect needs to be in place so as to role out the scheme immediately it is ready. The level of education of these personnel will vary though a minimum requirement of a degree in the relevant areas of qualification. Conclusion It is clearly noticeable that this is going to be a difficult task to accomplish. There are various ways to achieve it though. The over-riding concern is how to gather the requisite capital. This is not however the only bottle-neck as issues to deal with consensus need to be addressed, for example, how to you get students and the university staff to co-operate. After securing the funding, other problems on how to move forward and make the whole scheme operational will require the insight of expert opinion. This coupled with other problems not mentioned in this paper can provide a reason to ignore this urgent problem. As it has been found out, the gravity of the challenges that lie ahead of this program does not need to dim our focus. The agenda is to find an accommodating environment where each and every individual is able to enjoy a given service. To achieve this, it calls upon us to spare no effort in trying to come up with a working formula to the current problem. After establishing this parking arrangement, issues to do with seniority and other biases will cease as everybody’s needs will be catered for. Challenges do exist and the onus here is on us to overcome them. Having made these revelations, I call upon the affected people to raise their concerns so that these recommendations can be adjusted accordingly. Works cited President and Fellows of Harvard College. Institutional research, factbook, office of institutional research; Cambridge, MA 02138, 2009, pg, 1. Read More