Last fall, UNMC and Nebraska Medicine started a process to provide more alternatives for commuting to work, instead of using a single occupant vehicle. Working on these “Active Transportation” options, the most common concern we hear revolves around the cost of parking:
- Why do we have to pay to park here?
- Where does all that money go?
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Parking does not generate profit. Yes, money is collected, but it actually covers a variety of expenses. For example, a major snowstorm can cost $45,000 or more. While some businesses can wait until it stops snowing to clear snow, we are a 24/7 operation. For your safety, sidewalks and lots are continuously and repeatedly cleared and salted, while snow from parking garages actually has to be hauled off site.
Here’s a list of where parking fees go:
- Bond payment: paying off loans and interest for the construction of parking garages, 46 percent.
- Operating expenses: snow removal, jump starts, 16 percent.
- Personnel: staffing for parking office and enforcement, 14 percent
- Utilities: water and electricity in parking lots and garages, 6 percent
- Supplies: fuel, signage, hardware, elevators, mandatory fire alarm testing, 4 percent
- Improvements: resurfacing, minor repairs, lighting upgrades, 2 percent
- Capital Improvement: Remaining funds go to cover future major expenses or overages, averaging 12 percent. This covers anything from the unexpected demolition of Lot 4, excessive snow, expansion joint repair, or expenses related to vandalism. Collecting a little bit at a time prevents a large increase in parking fees anytime something major happens. All money goes back into parking infrastructure — it isn’t used for anything else. If this account has more money than it needs, parking rates may stay the same. If not, they could go up.
But this begs the question: how do other places in town handle parking if they don’t charge their employees to park?
Answer: they do, they just don’t tell them. If parking is owned or leased by an employer, the employee helps to pay for expenses. It may not be a line-item on the pay stub, but they pay for it with fewer vacation days, fewer benefits, smaller raises — something. We have an advantage, because we have a choice. If I don’t want to pay, I don’t park, and that’s money I save.
Interested in saving money? We’ll be rolling out multiple options this spring that will get you to campus while saving you money.
Are we as employee's also paying for the patient parking area repair's etc. or does the fee we pay go towards employee parking only?
Melanie,
Finally, someone who know the correct use of "begs the question"! Thank you, thank you, thank you. We are raising a generation that thinks it means "demands that we ask". Thanks for using it correctly.
46% of the budget is getting spent on basically interest payments. If you look at all the construction going on around campus, it is a little ridiculous that UNMC would go into debt to pay for parking structures. Poor planning on the part of UNMC's administration is costing all of its employees. In a region with a large decentralized population these "active transportation" strategies are a pipe dream at best. Time for UNMC to get real and make parking a priority.
Vickey,
No, employee parking fees only go towards employee parking lots/garages.
Melanie
Which parking structures are we paying towards loans on? The most current(?) lot 50, built before the Durham research towers, was supposedly due to gifted funding.
Margaret, You are correct, we are paying on lot 50. Mr. Durham did give some money to aid in the building of that garage (completed in 2003, right before DRC 1 opened) but the majority of the cost was UNMC's.
Melanie
What is the total budget for this department and does the department make or lose money? G. Javitch
One idea that I have heard from a fellow co-worker, that I think would be good to incorporate into a Parking Plan (I really think the campus needs to have a separate detailed plan for parking as they do for buildings), is to build Parking Garages where the first floor is dedicated office/retail space that can be leased to help cover costs, or a percentage of costs, for the structure itself. They do this on some of the parking structures on the UNL Campus and I have seen in other cities. I think this would also be a nice addition to the campus, where we could have a good mix of retail (And hopefully restaurants) within the campus.
In my opinion UNMC needs to get a handle on parking, because one of the general complaints I hear from friends, family, and people I meet who find out I work at UNMC is that the parking is pain, and as an employee it's a pain to have to park blocks away from where I work, then in some cases have to cross dangerous intersections (42nd and Leavenworth in my case)