Enhancing Campus Accessibility: Proposal for a Parking Deck on Kean Main Campus

Carter Williams

Co-Presenters: Sean Brophy, Jeremy Chocoj, Ariandy Frias, Yaiza Lucero

College: College of Business and Public Management

Major: BS.MANAGEMENT-ANALYT

Faculty Research Mentor: Lee, Kyung

Abstract:

Abstract:Kean University is a public university that serves large population of commuter students. Many students and faculty rely on the on-campus parking facilities to access whichever academic buildings and services they need.However, the university has had an issue with insufficient parking for students, faculty, and visitors on campus. Observable symptoms include long delays getting into parking lots, traffic, and difficulty accessing campus facilities which causes student frustration. This all builds up to support the idea that the parking infrastructure doesn’t fully meet students’ needs for reliable and time-efficient access to parking.The purpose of this project is to evaluate the existing parking supply/demand issues and in turn develop a design/build solution to reduce current parking issues and improve the overall parking experience for everyone on campus.This research project mainly aims to answer these questions:- What are the peak parking times on campus?- How long do commuters spend during peak hours finding parking?- What are the satisfaction levels with the current parking availability?- Do students support the idea of construction of new parking facilities?- What would be the best location for a new parking facility if it were built?To accomplish this, our research will attempt to identify the peak usage times and propose possible ideas for locations/designs for an efficient parking facility to be built on the main campus. The existing parking deck near Hynes Hall, which provides extra parking for students if the main parking lot is full, shows that a structured solution could resolve parking problems in other parts of the university, such as the main campus.This study will utilize mixed-methods of research, employing both quantitative data from campus-wide surveys, and qualitative feedback from mainly undergraduate campus students and possibly staff who regularly use the parking facilities on campus. The data that is collected will measure the frequency of the difficulties of parking, time spent looking for available parking, satisfaction levels, and support for a possible expansion of parking infrastructure on campus.Keywords: Campus Parking, User Satisfaction, Transportation Planning, Parking Demand Analysis, Commuter Students