Committee meets to discuss city's Park and Ride program

The City of Bloomington's Planning Department held its final public meeting Wednesday regarding the Park and Ride program. The meeting was held to share survey results on the usage of the program and open the floor for suggestions before the staff makes final recommendations on the changes to be implemented in the service.\nPark and Ride is a shuttle bus service run by Bloomington Transit running from Bryan Park to campus. Parking lots allow users to leave their cars at the park for the day. Buses run every 10 minutes on weekdays during the school year and make stops by Jordan Hall and the School of Optometry. \n"Ever since it was established in 1999, Park and Ride has been a tremendous success," said Planning Director Tom Micuda.\nThe survey of 400 users, conducted in mid-October, showed that 99 percent of Park and Ride users are IU students, and 19 percent come from outside the city limits. Over 60 percent use the service because it is free and convenient, according to the survey.\nCity of Bloomington Transportation Planner Karyn Ryg said there was a good turnout of both residents and student users at the meeting, which was held at 6 p.m. in the Monroe County Library. Around 30 people were present. Students suggested making the Park and Ride bus an express bus, instead of stopping to pick up people along the route. Residents of the Bryan Park area suggested changing the route to utilize more arterial streets. A suggestion was also made to use alternative fuel buses to cut down on pollution. Ryg said Bloomington Transit already has bio-diesel buses planned. \n"Now we have to take the comments and see which suggestions are feasible and realistic and can be implemented," Ryg said.\nBased on their findings, the Planning Department will submit a report of recommendations to the Metropolitan Planning Organization's Policy and Citizens Advisory Committees and the Bloomington Transit Board of Directors in early 2004. These committees will be responsible for instituting any changes to the Park and Ride program.\nAs of now, Long Range Planner Nate Nickel said the only change currently planned is to place parking restrictions on the area in early 2004, banning overnight parking.\n"The problem is that a lot of people are storing their cars there and Park and Ride users can't find spaces," Nickel said.\nMicuda said the city has received periodic concerns from people nearby about the bus usage in the area. Concerns have been voiced over the noise from the buses, the pollution from the extra vehicles in the area and cars parked in neighborhoods where they normally wouldn't be.\n"The city was asked to try to do a survey of riders to get a handle on the causes of some of the problems that have come up," Micuda said. \nThe Planning Department held public meetings in July and September. At the meetings, they worked with the community to develop the survey and steer it in the right direction. Nickel said they tried to find out how the service was being used and what changes could be made to benefit the program. During the week of Oct. 20, 30 staff hours were devoted to surveying Park and Ride users to find out why and by whom it was being used, and how students would get to campus if the service wasn't available.\n"I think the survey was a success," Ryg said. "We got really good feedback from users and the neighborhood. I think we'll be able to come up with solutions to benefit both sides."\n-- Contact Hannah Schroder at hschroder@indiana.edu.