Testing the Hypothesis, Part 1

The opportunity I am choosing to pursue is the one that I wrote about last week regarding a service to identify open parking spaces in and around campus.

Students and faculty at the University of Florida are unable to locate parking close to their destination/home in a timely manner, due to the limited space and growth of the area.

Who: Students and Faculty at UF
What: Unable to find parking in a timely manner close to their destination
Why: Limited parking space and growth of UF and the area

I conducted 5 interviews to learn more about this issue.

Interview 1: Student Living Off-Campus (Near Sorority Row)
He told me that he definitely has this issue as he has a city parking permit and therefore often has to spend a decent amount of time searching for a parking space. He says while he generally does not mind having to walk a bit to get back to his apartment, there are times when this is not ideal such as when he has groceries or something of the like. He does not experience the problem on campus as he walks to class. He said it generally is only a challenge to find parking in his neighborhood as when he goes anywhere significantly off-campus he can always find parking. He agrees with my "why" of the issue.

Interview 2: Student Living Off-Campus (Closer to Downtown)
He told me he has a reserved parking space at his building so he does not experience the problem. However he said he has to spend a very large sum of money on it, so he still wishes it was not so big of an issue. He also walks to class but says it is a bit far, and if it was possible to drive and park nearby he would probably do it. He said he does drive his car, but only to use the gym as that is where there is a significant amount of parking and he never has an issue there. He believes the issue is also caused by poor planning of the use of parking space.

Interview 3: UF faculty member
She told me that while UF faculty are able to get orange decals, which have a couple more dedicated lots, there is still often an issue to get a parking space close to where you are working that day. She also says that there is high demand to get good lots even for faculty higher up in administration. To get the gold or silver decal, there is a waiting list even amongst administrative faculty that have been here for a long time. She told me that she also thinks there is poor planning on the design and construction of parking lots/garages and wishes there was more space immediately off campus to park as well.

Interview 4: Business owner at midtown
I talked with the proprietor of a local business operating in midtown. While they are able to park in the lot near their business, I asked whether they thought that a lack of parking in the area affected business in any way. He told me that while they do have a parking lot, it is small and gets filled up very quickly. He said that while many students simply walk over from campus, he does believe that he would get more business if there was ample parking in the area. He said that there simply isn't enough space in the area to build lots and that zoning laws are also a problem.

Interview 5: Non-student living in the area
I interviewed my neighbor at my apartment building who is a recent graduate working in Gainesville. He said he is still living near campus as he likes the area, but the parking situation is making him think of moving into a more residential area. He has to drive to work every day and finding parking when he comes home can be a challenge. He is thinking of getting a house in northwest Gainesville closer to his job and where he will not have to worry about parking anymore. He said he really enjoys this area but the parking is frustrating for him.

Summary of Interviews

Everyone I interviewed had some problem with parking, whether it be in the direct way I originally hypothesized or something slightly different. I was surprised that almost everyone had slightly different ideas as to why it was such a problem. I had never considered how Gainesville zoning laws would affect parking, so this may be factored into the solution of the problem.