Don’t Pave Paradise; Don’t Put Up a Parking Lot

1. Don’t Pave Paradise; Don’t Put Up a Parking Lot David Browning Edward M. DesPlas

2. Who? • DCCCD = Dallas County Community College District • DART = Dallas Area Rapid Transit

3. DFW Metropolitan Area • Per the 2010 US Census, Dallas/Ft. Worth Metro population is 6,371,771; largest metro area in Texas and the South, 4th Largest in the US and 10th Largest in all of the Americas. • Region spans 10,693 square miles. • Huge highway system to accommodate: Culture built around cars & trucks. • Free parking in vast suburban spaces. • Until 1996, public transportation was buses only. • Few people used public transportation.

4. DART Trains & Buses Most of Dallas County Part of Collin County Soon to hit Rockwall County Partnered with Trinity Railway Express, connect Ft. Worth in Tarrant County

5. El Centro college • El Centro College – flagship of DCCCD, centrally location in downtown Dallas, south Dallas and west Dallas • El Centro student population: 12,000 (credit) • El Centro has extremely limited parking. • Served by all bus lines and train lines, nearest train station is 130 yards from front door.

6. 1997 • El Centro enrollment tanked at 3,500 students. • Enrollment patterns indicated migration to suburban colleges. • Reasons: • congested commute to downtown area • high cost of parking • rising cost of gasoline • decline of CBD as vibrant destination

7. What Behaviors Need to Change? • Transportation Choice – • Get Ye to a Train or Bus to influence • Enrollment Choice • Get Ye to El Centro College

8. What Can Cause Behavior Change? DART-Free

9. Structure of Program • Eligible students • Credit student enrolled in 6 credit hrs. • CE students in 96 contact hrs. • Statistics since Fall 1997

10. Did Behaviors Change? YES

11. Initial Report DART Free Program Survey- Spring 2013 Dart Pass Program Participants Spring 2013

12. 1. How often do you use your DART-Free pass?

13. 2. Do your use your DART-Free pass for transportation other than to El Centro College?

14. 3. Have you ever utilized the DART system before attending El Centro College?

15. 4. How often did you utilize the DART system before attending El Centro College?

16. 5. Did the DART-Free program influence your decision to choose El Centro College as your college?

17. 6. Has the DART-Free program made it easier for you to attend classes at El Centro College?

18. 6. Has the DART-Free program made it easier for you to attend classes at El Centro College?

19. 7. Do you plan to utilize public transportation after completing your education at El Centro College?

20. 8. How has the DART-Free program at El Centro College changed your opinion of public transportation?

21. 9. Is the DART-Free program's effect on the environment an important reason for your participation?

22. 10. Please share any other comments about the DART-Free program at El Centro College:

23. Survey of Graduates • Revealed similar results as survey of current students • Of note are responses that indicate we were able to influence a lasting change in transportation choice….

24. Did you utilize public transportation after completing your education at El Centro College or at another DCCCD College?

25. Did Enrollments Go Up? YES

26. Gas Price Increase Vs. El Centro Enrollment Growth Yearly Average from the U.S. Energy Information Administration

27. Providing Students with Affordable Transportation • Monthly Cost of Parking • Monthly cost of Gasoline • % of students of FA • No Gas $ = no attendance • No attendance = attrition • No Parking $ = parking tickets • Unpaid parking tickets = jail time • Jail time = attrition • Affordable Transportation = student success

28. What about the “Bottom Line”?

29. Public Transit Program vs. Parking • Cost Comparisons: • Parking Garage construction Cost $5,000,000 • 500 parking spaces (assume space cycles 25 times/week) • Cost for Security and Maintenance $3,750,000 • Total: $8,750,000 • Est. Parkers since 1997: 187,500 • Est. $46.67 per student parker • Total for DART-Free: $ 4,457,820 • Riders since 1997: 109,669 • $40.65 per student rider

30. What Else?

31. Less crime; more study time • Survey of 6 other college within the DCCCD with parking lots showed, on average, 60% of campus criminal activity occurred in their parking lots • Public transportation allows students to continue group discussions while commuting

32. Enhanced applications for grants for economic development and environmental programs • Silver Rating on AASHE • Promotes environmental grant applications • Interagency collaboration increases grant proposal scores • Attracts “green” partners – US Green Building Council

33. Lower Carbon Footprint In 2009 with a full-time student enrollment of 7,700 ECC reduced it’s CO2e produced by student commuting by 32.6%

34. Promoting “Paradise” • DART drive-on to non participating municipalities: EFC, CVC • DART bus access at all other colleges • RLC “Poetry in Motion” • DART Train Station @ NLC; station artwork designed by NLC faculty • DART pass good 24/7, not just school transit • Student retention – seamless, semester-to-semester

35. What’s the buzz? “One key initiative at the College is a program to facilitate travel to and from the College. With a diverse population of low-income students and no College provided parking on the main campus, the College provides each student registered for at least six credits with a free DART card that enables that student to use the Dallas area rapid transportation system to get to/from campus. Students can also use the card to get to and from work and for personal travel including evenings and weekends. While the College pays for these cards (at discounted rates from the city transportation authority), the benefits to students vastly outweigh the costs, and this program helps students who might otherwise not be able to pursue or continue their education to progress to and through college affordably” Karen Gross is a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Education

36. Questions?