City hires students to study parking

Some Public Policy students have analyzed one of the most chaotic situations in the state - parking in Ann Arbor.

The Downtown Development Authority and the city of Ann Arbor jointly commissioned a study from the six students, who presented their findings to city council last night's meeting.

The purpose of the study was to determine where and when people park in city parking lots and structures.

"On South (University Avenue), everybody just assumes that a lot of students park there," said Kim Hill, city administrative assistant.

But until now, no one knew the demographics of parking, he said.

According to the report, 47 percent of the customers in the Forest Street parking structure are students.

The study also examined the viability of the city's parking system as a marketable, privately run operation.

"A few people were asking, 'Why are we fixing the parking structures? Why not sell them and let someone else fix them?'" said Susan Pollay, executive director of the DDA.

According to the report, the structures are not financially self-sufficient because of extensive on-going renovations.

The students became involved through courses in the University's School of Public Policy in which students are commissioned to study issues for state and municipal governments.

"We don't want to be a typical internship," said University Research Investigator Marlowe Greenberg, who supervised the class. "We want to provide a service and get paid for that service."

Hill said the School of Public Policy's relationship with the city began last year with a study on the ramifications of a local income tax.

"A year ago, a group of students from the School of Public Policy and the then-Dean (of Public Policy Edward) Gramlich did a study of the possible income tax," Hill said. The income tax study served as a model of cooperation between the city and the University, he said.

The income tax study was a great success, Hill said. He added that city officials began to see studies by Public Policy students as a valuable source of inexpensive information.

Meanwhile, the studies gave students hands-on experience, Hill said.

"The students got to work on an actual project rather than something dreamed up in a textbook," Hill said.

The city commissioned the study in August for $6,500. Greenberg said the fee covered the group's expenses while the students worked for course credit.

Greenberg estimated that a private consulting firm would have cost "considerably more than four times" the amount paid for the study by the students.

The study reports that 18 percent of the city's parking customers use parking lots for purposes connected with the University.

The study also gives a brief overview of the systems in 11 other cities, including Boulder, Colo., Lansing and Grand Rapids. According to the study, Ann Arbor's rate of 60 cents per hour for parking meters is considerably lower than the average. Most cities charged at least $1 per hour.

Ann Arbor Parking Authority's fines for parking violations are also below average.

"Ann Arbor is very much on the low end of tickets for expired parking," said Scott Jacobs, one of the students who conducted the project. While Ann Arbor charges $5 for a parking ticket, many cities in the survey charged $15.

02-10-98