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WITH UVA INFILL, WHERE TO PARK?-C'VILLE WEEKLY, JULY 3, 2007

Posted: Thursday July 5, 2007

With UVA Infill, Where to Park?

City further reduces supply with Ninth Street restrictions

BY SCOTT WEAVER

As far as parking, the six curb-side spaces on the 200 block of Ninth Street SW aren’t much. But soon all six will be off limits to nonresidents, including employees of the nearby UVA Hospital who’ve been snagging those precious parking spaces. And while it may be only six spaces, Ninth Street’s move to permit parking is a small example of a larger UVA problem.

Local residents—not medical residents—will soon be the only ones allowed to use these parking spaces on the 200 block of Ninth Street SW.

Rebecca White, the director of parking and transportation at UVA, confirms that on-grounds parking for University staff is getting harder and harder to find. White also says that the hike from parked car to building is increasing, “especially as the South Lawn project has gotten underway.” With construction and the number of University parking spaces static, White’s department faces a looming question: Where to put all these cars?

The answer? Get rid of some, a solution that of course goes by a more professional-sounding name, Transportation Demand Management (TDM).

TDM—or as it’s referred to in the minutes of the Transportation and Parking Committee, “The art of influencing travel behavior for the purpose of reducing demand for single occupant vehicle use”—is already in effect, says White. Open Ridership began on April 2, a program that allows anyone with a UVA ID to ride all Charlottesville Transit System buses on the University’s dime. White also points to UVA’s “Smart Transportation Map” that shows bike routes around the University grounds. UVA is also creating a position in the parking and transportation department to focus on TDM. White says she can’t comment on any others plans.

Same goes for the data from a commissioned study on TDM. Where are the majority of commuters coming from? Where are they parking? “I don’t have hard numbers,” says White. “We do have that data, but we haven’t fully interpreted it.”

As University spaces grow more scarce, more staffers will inevitably hunt for spots on city streets, though the six spaces on Ninth Street SW will be off limits as soon as the city gets the restricted-parking signs up.

Chris Mertz walks up Ninth Street after work, white lab coat in hand, passing a brown Honda Accord with a “Virginia Medicine” sticker on the rear window. Mertz, who lives within walking distance of his hospital job, says some of the hospital staff who park on city streets aren’t getting the option to park in hospital parking garages, which cost $840 a year. Many are left with difficult options. “I’ve heard about some people parking illegally at Walker Square.”

C-VILLE welcomes news tips from readers. Send them to news@c-ville.com.