University of South Florida Parking Operations Study and Strategic Plan

The University of South Florida manages nearly 90 surface parking lots and four parking garages consisting of slightly over 20,000 parking spaces. The campus master plan includes utilizing existing surface lots for future building growth, housing, and a campus greenway. The goal of the study was to assist the Parking and Transportation Services (PATS) department with updating the parking master plan in coordination with the campus master plan to address current demand and strategically plan for projected future parking demand.

In addition to analyzing parking occupancy data for existing conditions, a substantial amount of data was collected and evaluated to determine permit parking utilization by user type for each shared parking facility. The findings supported PATS policies to reallocate designated shared use locations resulting in the optimization of the current supply. Additionally, a comparable study was conducted to evaluate and compare PATS programs and policies to several peer institutions.

WGI’s Geospatial Division implemented drone technology to collect a series of occupancy data for the entire campus. The study included providing the University with a complete geodatabase of the results along with flight imagery. The database was intended to be included with the University’s existing GIS program and be utilized for future planning initiatives.

Recommendations included:

• Identifying enhanced management practices to maximize the current parking inventory and future demand;
• The value of investing in various parking technology applications;
• An enhanced permit parking reallocation plan to maximize capacity;
• Current and projected future effect of alternative transit and mobility options.