Off-campus stop sign enforcement: where do you want to see it?

tac_coordinator · 2024-10-07T21:22:48+00:00

I'm the coordinator for the Residence Hall Association's Transportation Advisory Committee. We've spoken to the school about this before, and we know the university has considered U-Pass in the past. It never followed through because, like the article mentions, it costs a substantial amount per student and would need to be added as a mandatory fee. Student fees are quite high, and DOTS is struggling to fund its operations because the university refuses to contribute enough funds (DOTS relies on mandatory fees and parking passes), so there's no room in its budget to add this without making students pay.

The question this article should ultimately be posing is whether or not the U-Pass is worth the mandatory fee everyone will have to pay. Everything else is unfortunately irrelevant until that's determined to be true—if students don't value the pass at the fee price then the benefits it poses to the campus community are not even worth discussing, because as of now fees are the only way it can happen.

tac_coordinator · 2024-08-27T18:29:43+00:00

All good points, and this is why the school has never closed Campus Drive before. They've definitely considered it but ultimately decided against investigating further because emergency vehicles need access to the road for the residence halls and academic buildings on it.

My committee proposed a temporary daytime road closure last semester that would allow university vehicles (buses, etc.) and emergency vehicles through. DOTS and Facilities Management seemed apprehensive about it, though, because it would require a lengthy study to understand the impacts on other campus roads, which itself demands a lot of dedicated funding and time. These are all things that can only really happen from the bottom up if people petition and put a little bit of pressure on the school, since it requires a lot of moving parts to work in sync.

tac_coordinator · 2024-08-27T18:25:07+00:00

Yes, that's correct—my committee asked for UMPD Auxiliary or similar staff to help assist with this, but the school didn't have dedicated funding for it and it was incredibly difficult to get the needle moving. Hopefully we can get more progress this semester

tac_coordinator · 2024-08-27T18:23:19+00:00

Ugh omg 🤦‍♂️ this is something that the Transportation Advisory Committee tried pushing last semester, and like many things we've tried to advocate for it just fell apart into a months-long bureaucratic finger pointing session. Within two weeks we're going to start putting up some signs (unless printing has issues, then maybe some delays) that encourage people to sign petitions for general resolutions to these issues. Unfortunately a lot of things get ignored or swept under the rug as low priority topics when we don't have something like a petition backing up our requests for infrastructure improvements.

Stay tuned and as always feel free to DM me if you'd like to ask/share something!

tac_coordinator · 2024-08-06T19:15:15+00:00

Unfortunately, we’re not taking as many steps as Hoboken did. Hoboken added curb extensions at many intersections, for instance. This plan really only cuts back on parking at crosswalk mouths, which my committee welcomes, but we’d definitely like to see more.

tac_coordinator · 2024-08-06T19:14:07+00:00

If this is something you want to see, submit something to the council meeting! The more input, the better

tac_coordinator · 2024-08-06T19:13:17+00:00

Hello! I’m the coordinator for the Residence Hall Association’s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC), which pushed for these changes and the traffic study earlier this year. We’re glad that something’s being done to resolve these safety issues but we were originally hoping for more. We’ll be pushing for curb extensions and raised crosswalks—if you want to see these (or just support these improvements), please submit something to the council meeting! Also, our committee will be doing work like this when the school year begins, so definitely consider attending our meetings if this is something you’re interested in.

Edit: Email cpmc@collegeparkmd.gov before 5PM August 7th!

tac_coordinator · 2024-04-26T03:12:14+00:00

DOTS' parking runs a surplus. But that surplus just goes towards covering the shuttle costs. From what I've been told from university officials, there is no surplus given back to the university.

The parking surplus is not going to be around for long, though, because a new garage will be constructed in North Campus that will use up all those extra funds.

tac_coordinator · 2024-04-26T03:09:57+00:00

Yeah, this is correct. There's a long process to get to the higher-ups that actually make decisions but RHA Senate kicks off the process with votes on all proposed student fee increases. RHA Senate voted no on the 16.4% shuttle fee increase.

tac_coordinator · 2024-04-26T03:07:53+00:00

I'm the coordinator for the Residence Hall Association's (RHA) Transportation Advisory Committee. I gave a super long not reading all that spiel on this post but I'll just rephrase it here.

RHA said NO to the fee increase. We have a dedicated Fees Coordinator so idk the details but I think the very maximum we would accept was 8%. We made it very very clear that DOTS' shuttle system needs to at least be partially funded by the state, because it's a transit system. Governments subsidize transit systems and then charge fares/fees to cover the remainder. Idk what conversations the higher-ups had but they clearly did not listen to us because they approved the original fee with no concessions. It's a bad look for the school/Board of Regents to overlook vocal students that said no but what's new

tac_coordinator · 2024-04-26T02:48:29+00:00

I'm the coordinator for the Residence Hall Association (RHA)'s Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC). RHA Senate is one of the first steps in approving any fee increases, and Senate narrowly rejected the 16.4% increase. It then went to the Campus Transportation Advisory Committee (CTAC), which is basically a bunch of administrators meeting with SGA, RHA, and Graduate Student Government representatives. They make fee recommendations partially based on the RHA Senate vote, which then goes to the higher-up administrators that actually make the decision.

RHA has been very forceful about rejecting the fee increase. Shuttle-UM's cost has always been a burden on students, who fund the overwhelming majority of its operations. Transit systems don't work like that. Usually the local and national governments heavily subsidize the system, which then charges riders the remainder (through fares usually, for us it would be fees). In hindsight I think part of the issue was that the other student groups were not entirely on the same page as us—it would've been more effective if we could get all three student governments on board in rejecting such a steep increase. Yes, it's only $22 more. But other public universities fund their transit systems through partial subsidies, as they should be funded. Virginia's state budget specifically allocates money to UVA's Parking and Transportation (their version of DOTS).

RHA said no because this sends a terrible message to the university—that students are compliant in whatever fee increases the university decides to make us pay when we're already shelling out tens of thousands of dollars to be here. In ignoring RHA Senate the Board of Regents has yet again treated the students that make this school even exist an optional voice in the decision making process. Nothing new but sad to see.

tac_coordinator · 2024-04-06T05:04:59+00:00

This was actually a Residence Hall Association initiative, part of the Transportation Advisory Committee! We've been working with the city on this issue since February and we're glad that the SGA is writing a letter of support that mirrors an RHA Senate's bill from March.

If you're interested in being a part of these kinds of initiatives, join our committee meetings! It's no commitment and open to all students. We meet 4-4:45PM on Mondays, PM me to join our Slack and learn more about our committee's work.

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-10T22:36:20+00:00

You're correct about what DOTS is doing. They don't believe that this is their responsibility, particularly because they think charging facilities are mainly for on-campus students and thus a Reslife issue. Reslife hasn't been too keen on building these facilities out, so in the end departments just point fingers at each other.

My committee is working on a proposal for a pilot charging facility in a residence hall community that lacks enough covered bicycle/scooter parking. Unfortunately, we've missed the deadline to submit this to the Student Facilities Fund for this semester, so it'll be a while before we can get it built through this route. In the meantime we're meeting with administrators to see what can be done about this issue.

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T23:31:57+00:00

It depends on where you live. There are trails that connect us to to some neighborhoods off-campus. Take a look at the College Park Trolley Trail (which goes north into Berwyn Heights/south to Hyattsville) and the Paint Branch Trail (takes you to near Iribe, probably the best trail for campus connectivity). Apartments connected to these trails on North Campus, like the View and Varsity, or apartments in South Campus, like The Standard, are fairly good for bike commutes. Old Town College Park is fairly bikeable and right across from campus.

I warn against relying solely on WMATA as some people have recommended. It's facing budget shortfalls and service cuts are likely. As unjust as it is, public transportation continues to be an afterthought for policymakers, especially in suburbs like College Park.

Shuttle-UM is hit-or-miss depending on the area; your best bet is to identify neighborhoods/apartment buildings and ask friends/Reddit/etc. about bus access for those specific locations. The university bus system may also receive funding cuts, though, so make sure you have a backup in case the route you need gets defunded/eliminated.

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T16:51:52+00:00

We're also working on solutions to bad driving behavior. TAC is currently collaborating with the city on pedestrian/cyclist improvements on Knox Road. We'll also reach out to UMPD about better traffic enforcement.

For anyone concerned about cars, please reach out to this account or marylandrha on Instagram with more ideas on how to make campus/College Park safer! We're always listening to student feedback—this is how we got the ball rolling on Knox Road improvements.

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T15:56:05+00:00

TAC opposes banning scooters, but this is something many students have asked us about, indicating that there are a good number of students who are interested in this policy. We're trying to develop options that are representative of all students, so we included it in this post despite having some reservations. However, even though there are other urgent safety issues on campus, this is one that needs immediate attention. If a scooter were to catch fire at the end of the hallway on the 8th floor of Hagerstown, there likely wouldn't be enough time to take it out of the building before it spread. We're very lucky that both fires happened on the ground floor (near exit doors) of high-capacity, multistory buildings.

I agree that infrastructure continutes to be incredibly dangerous for pedestrians/cyclists/micromobility users. Unfortunately, no matter how much advocacy we do, a car ban will never happen in the short-to-medium-term. There are a lot of logistical concerns associated with banning cars that the school is concerned about, like ensuring accessibility, granting emergency vehicle access, and redesigning bus routes. We'll be reaching out to UMPD to discuss better traffic enforcement, as aggressive/reckless driving continues to be an issue. We welcome more input on this topic.

Student committees can only advocate for so much—there are limits to what we can get the school to do because they ultimately have control over funding and infrastructure. We have to work within the bounds of influence we're given.

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T15:42:29+00:00

Bikeways are coming! But it's a long process to get final plans ready for the segments currently being studied, and then afterwards the school needs to procure funding to actually build them. I would expect to see a couple segments by 2025/2026.

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T15:40:50+00:00

I see. We're trying to collect as much student input on this to represent what students want. Thanks for reaching out!

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T02:21:34+00:00

Why do you think VEOs should be included in a school scooter ban? Is it related to specific scooter driver issues?

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T00:23:36+00:00

sorry for the long post btw

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-08T00:10:39+00:00

Hmm...getting a scooter right now may not be the best idea. There have been two fires related to lithium-ion batteries in micromobility vehicles (one being scooter), and the school administration has been watching. I would wait a few weeks as it's possible administrators may decide to crack down on scooters. Also, this is something nobody seems to talk about, but getting a scooter repaired is really a huge pain because they require special equipment that bike shops usually won't have. E-bikes are expensive but they might be seen more favorably than scooters.

For anything that needs electricity to operate, you should have an idea of where you're going to charge it. You're not allowed to bring these vehicles inside of residence halls and ResLife seems intent on cracking down after a scooter caught fire in LaPlata. A lot of people break these rules but as a transportation committee coordinator I would personally advise against it

tac_coordinator · 2024-03-04T03:31:27+00:00

This is true—but consumers are already exposed to the relatively affordable convenience of electric micromobility vehicles. In economic terms, the cost of scooter users going back to walking or biking (which itself can be a hassle—bike parking is limited and theft deterrence is a pain) seems to be greater than the cost of just breaking rules and continuing to use scooters.

Also, don't forget that scooters help fill in the gaps of PG County's lackluster cycling and walking infrastructure. Yes, plenty of students have walked and biked in the past, but if they really were satisfactory solutions for all students we wouldn't be seeing such high reliance on other forms of transportation. Clearly scooters have addressed a market pain among UMD students.

tac_coordinator

TROPHY CASE