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October 2015 – Community Forum Newsletter

Next Community Forum


Thursday, Jan. 21, 2016 | 6:30-8 p.m.
S.J. Quinney College of Law, Sixth floor, Room 6500
383 University Street, Salt Lake City

The College of Law is located on the northeast corner of 400 S. and University Street (1400 East)

Free parking is available in the lot to the east of the law building and the Rice-Eccles Stadium parking lot. The university will not be enforcing parking during this meeting. We strongly encourage you to use public transportation, if possible. Take the TRAX University Red Line to the Stadium stop, the Red Route for the university’s free campus shuttles (Carlson Hall stop) and for other public transit options use UTA’s Trip Planner or click the “Transit” option under “Get Directions” on Google maps.

We welcome your attendance, comments, and participation in the discussion.

AGENDA of Next Forum


  • Health Sciences construction projects and impacts
    Bob Simonton, director of Capital Projects for Facilities Management, University of Utah
  • Main campus construction projects and impacts
    John McNary, director of Campus Planning for Facilities Management, University of Utah
  • BioFire update
    Eric Thompson, principal, FFKR Architects
    Bill Phifer, senior principal, FFKR Architects
  • Commuter Services
    Alma Allred, executive director of Commuter Services, University of Utah
    Melissa Johnson, director of transportation services for Commuter Services, University of Utah

 

Recap of the Oct. 15, 2015 Community Forum


REDUCING SINGLE-OCCUPANCY VEHICLES ON CAMPUS AND UNIVERSITY TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN
Alma Allred, executive director of Commuter Services, University of Utah

The University of Utah has four primary goals:

  1. Promote student success to transform lives
  2. Develop and transfer new knowledge
  3. Help the people of Utah and beyond improve their health and quality
    of life
  4. Ensure long-term viability of the university
1. STUDENT SUCCESS

Goal: Help students get to and from campus and to their classes. Forty-two Commuter Services employees provide student support and act as ambassadors during the first weeks of each new semester, giving directions, maps, and providing information.

The university operates the second largest transit agency in the entire
state of Utah with:
• 12 routes
• 40 buses
• 60 drivers
• 640 passengers per day, per bus
• 43,433 passengers per week
• Almost 1 million miles per day

Bus and shuttle routes going around the campus are ways to meet the goal of reducing those million miles traveled.

More students are living on campus than in previous years. Eighteen percent of riders are going from the Heritage Center to the Union. The U has converted diesel-fueled buses to natural gas. So far 25 percent of fleet has been converted to CNG, saving $400,000 in fuel costs, as well as improving the university’s carbon footprint.

Visit the live shuttle tracker at uofubus.com to see real time locations of
all shuttles.

2. NEW KNOWLEDGE

Goal: Use advances in technology to improve customer service and efficiency.

PARKING PERMITS AND ENFORCEMENT
With the new virtual parking permits and license plate recognition (LPR) technology, the U has changed how it issues and enforces parking permits. Customers manage accounts online and the LPR cameras assist patrol officers. This system is more efficient and saves time and money.
• No more hang tags (The U used to purchase 650 pounds of plastic
parking permits/year)
• No long lines to buy a permit
• Easier to enforce
• Online services
• Stops counterfeit permits

Electric Shuttle

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THE ELECTRIC SHUTTLE

• Support research of new technology to charge buses on route
• A new road for the electric began construction October 2015
• The new road will reduce total miles on campus traveled

VISITOR PARKING AND PAY LOTS
Pay-by-phone meters have replaced over 50 percent of standard coinoperated meter heads and parking kiosks will replace lot attendants and gated entry. They’re easy to use and customers can now add time from their phone and mobile devices.

How new parking kiosk works:
1. Note your license plate
2. Go to pay station
3. Enter license plate number
4. Purchase time
5. Keep receipt

3. QUALITY OF LIFE

Goal: Provide options for commuters to use alternate forms of transportation.

CARPOOL
An additional carpooling program called Zimride is being sponsored this year. We also continue to support the Enterprise car-sharing program.

PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION
We want to increase internal and external marketing efforts to encourage alternate transportation and to provide better public information. Increased use of public transportation options reduces the need to build parking garages and supports the University Climate Action Plan to have 50 percent of campus population using an alternate form of transportation.

Active pakring permits

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UNIVERSITY CLIMATE ACTION PLAN
The U’s goal was to reduce single occupant vehicles to 50 percent by the year 2020, however, we achieved this goal Fall Semester 2015.

Average daily ridership reported by UTA for Fall Semester 2011 was 6,578. It has increased by 43 percent to 9,393 by Fall Semester 2015.

Commuter Services pays for a transit pass for every member of the campus population; the cost for 2015 will exceed $4.1 million. In addition to this, Commuter Services pays an additional $300,000 per year so tickets to athletic events can be used as a transit pass on game day (football, gymnastics, basketball, and soccer). An additional 10,000-14,000 riders are using UTA during each football game this season.

Stadium TRAX platform clears an average of 37 minutes after the game ends, all lots emptied within one hour.

 

4. LONG-TERM VIABILITY

Goal: Balance parking supply and alternate forms of transportation to provide for the ongoing needs of the entire campus population.

NEW PARKING OPTIONS
Northwest Garage: 310 stalls, “T” permits and reserved stalls on lower level; “A” permit parking available on levels two, three, and four. Opened September 2015.
• Central Garage: 789 stalls with a play field on the roof. Reserved stalls, student and faculty/staff permits available. Opened September 2015.
• Health Sciences Garage: Scheduled completion date is Fall 2016 with approximately 1,000 stalls.

The cost of these three parking structures is $41,767,616.

PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION MASTER PLAN
Commuter Services is partnering with Facilities Management and Campus Planning to develop a Parking and Transportation Master Plan to help shape policy and inform future transportation infrastructure decisions.

Suggestions for reducing traffic and parking on campus:
• Require campus construction projects to include plans to replace parking.
• Place parking limitations on residents of campus housing.
• Restrict parking on campus for faculty, staff, and students who live within a 1-mile radius of campus.
• Require telecommuting when practical.
• Change scheduled class time to reduce parking demand during peak times.

 

CAMPUS SAFETY AND EMERGENCY ALERTS
Dale Brophy, director of public safety and chief of police, University of Utah

Chief Brophy worked for 20 years at West Valley City Police Department and came to the university in October 2013 as the deputy chief, becoming the chief of police in January 2015. The U is considered a public safety department because there are both security officers and police officers. Forty-three security officers work between the main hospital and the Huntsman Cancer Institute. An additional 24 security officers work at the Williams Building, the Natural History Museum, and on main campus. Security officers can help those on campus with lock outs, battery jumps, and safety escorts.

There are 37 full-time police officers at the U and with five in the field training program. In February 2016, the plan is to begin staffing the hospital emergency department 24 hours per day, seven days a week. Right now they are in the emergency department 10 hours per day.

Many of the officers employed at the U have been employed here for a long time, with great institutional knowledge, others bring decades of experience working for other police agencies around the state.

EMERGENCY NOTIFICATIONS
The U sent out an emergency alert on Sept. 17, when a bank robbery suspect in Salt Lake City ended up on campus. The notification was sent out to everyone that has a registered email address through the university; approximately 72,000 people. This isn’t mandated by the Clery Act, but was sent because of the potential threat on campus and the large police presence at the Eccles Broadcast Center. The Clery Act is a federal law that requires all colleges and universities to share information about crime on campus and efforts to improve campus safety, as well as inform the public of crime in and around campus.

Community members have the ability to download an app called
“U Heads Up” to receive all of the university emergency alerts that
are being sent out.

CLERY CRIME STATS – PAST FIVE YEARS
These crime statistics are reported to the federal government every year. If you look at the chart, you’ll notice sex offenses went up to 19 in 2014. These types of crimes are typically under reported and we are trying to get people to report as much as we can. So when we see these numbers go up, we believe it’s already been occurring on campus, but more people are reporting it. Even if they don’t want law enforcement response, it allows us to offer them resources they can utilize and there is a vast amount of resources on campus for sexual assault victims, such as the Center for Student Wellness Sexual Assault Support advocates.

Persons Crimes

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Larceny and thefts are the most common crimes committed on campus. Compared to 2014, we’ve made a big impact and brought those numbers down by focusing on one of the largest thefts on campus: bicycles. There are thousands of bikes on campus and we’ve found there are a number of people living in Salt Lake City whose job it is to come up to campus and steal bikes and then sell them.

Quality of Life crimes

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Bicycle Thefts

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We made a concerted effort to combat this. Last year there were 196 bike thefts with 10 arrests. This year there have only been 59 bike thefts with 20 arrests.

This is having an impact across campus since bikes aren’t the only targets.

CRIME REDUCTION MEASURES
1. Bait Bike Program – “No Free Ride” to be featured in Police Chief
Magazine fall 2015
2. Extra bicycle patrols during start of school
3. Community outreach program for education to prevent crimes
4. “Start by Believing” campaign – Giving victims a proper initial response
5. Hired several experienced officers
6. Expanding anti-theft efforts in November
7. 24/7 coverage at the emergency department coming early 2016
8. Electronic surveillance committee being formed for campus


CAMPUS CONSTRUCTION UPDATES
Shireen Ghorbani, Facilities Management, University of Utah

RECENTLY COMPLETED PROJECTS
Huntsman Center Arena – Upgraded sound system, curtain draping system, and floor that allows a variety of different uses for the arena, which includes speakers and musical performances, in addition to sport events.

George S. Eccles Student Life Center – Significant improvement for student life on campus and includes a climbing wall, indoor pool, and large areas for cardio and weight training. The building acts as a meeting space for students, offers food services, and the Outdoor Recreation Program.

Ray & Tye Noorda Oral Health Sciences Building – Located in
Research Park, includes a dental clinic with oral surgery, pediatrics, diagnostics, support space, classrooms, research labs, and more.

S.J. Quinney College of Law – The new 155,000-square-foot facility will provide a welcome getaway to students and the community southwest of campus. The new facility will house an expanded library, sustainable design, advanced research areas, increased space for learning and collaboration, and more.

Rio Tinto Kennecott Mechanical Engineering Building Renovation – Renovation and expansion of the east and north wings finished this year. New classrooms, student labs, offices, support spaces, and a café were part of the renovation and expansion.

Jon M. & Karen Huntsman Basketball Facility – Dedicated fall of 2015 and is a combination of remodeled space and a new facility with a new gym floor, offices, weight room, training room, lockers, and more.

CURRENT CONSTRUCTION
Huntsman Cancer Institute: Primary Children’s and Families’ Cancer Research Center – It is expanding its research capabilities in family and pediatric cancer research. The research expansion will be 220,000 square feet and house 35 new research teams and is projected to open in 2017.

Lassonde Studios – Will house student entrepreneurs and innovators with 412 residences and a 20,00-square-foot “garage” where students can connect, test ideas, and build prototypes. Construction began in October 2014.

Health Sciences Parking Garage – This will provide a net increase of about 800 stalls, responding to the growing need for additional parking on campus as stalls have been eliminated over time and is located behind the medical towers where students live.

Gary & Ann Crocker Science Center – Converting the George Thomas Building into a state-of-the-art teaching and research center, which will include seismic upgrades, reconfiguration of spaces with an eye to preservation of the exterior, key spaces, and components of the interior.

Additional announcements


TRAFFIC & TRANSPORTATION PUBLIC MEETING
TBD | All are welcome

The campus master transportation plan is in the final stages.
The next traffic and transportation meeting will be held once the plan has been approved.