Project Profile
UTMB at Galveston Mobility and Parking Study Phase I &II
Galveston, Texas
Client: UTMB
Project Summary: The University of Texas Medical Branch (UTMB) at Galveston contains 77 major buildings, several remote campus facilities on Galveston Island, and 64 remote clinics throughout Galveston and surrounding counties. In May 1997, TGC began work with UTMB to develop a Campus Mobility and Parking Study. The study was completed in two phases.
Project Highlights
Review of Current Performance, Development of Recommendations
In Phase I of the Mobility and Parking Study, TGC reviewed the services offered by UTMB including the existing parking resources, distribution of employees and visitors to the UTMB main campus, existing main campus internal transportation services, and linkages to remote facilities on Galveston Island. The Phase I report identified the following existing and projected mobility and parking opportunities: 1) to meet the demand for spaces at the Sealy & Smith and Rebecca Sealy garages on the east side of the UTMB campus with surplus parking at the UTMB shuttle lots, 2) to move UTMB employees parking from east-end residential neighborhoods to UTMB shuttle lots, 3) to consolidate shuttle routes and offer more frequent and reliable service, 4) to provide better signage, route identification, and marketing information to ensure effective access to all areas of campus.
Implementation of Service Recommendations
Phase II of the UTMB Mobility and Parking Study focused on the methods to implement the Phase I recommendations while reducing expenditures for future parking development through more effective use of existing under-utilized shuttle lots. Phase II of the report identified methods to greatly improve existing UTMB shuttle services through the introduction of new transit equipment and the construction of several new transit shelters. The study explored the potential of creating a Transportation Management Association to utilize funding through the Houston-Galveston Area Council to support UTMB-related mobility and parking improvements and an informational program for UTMB constituents. TGC provided support services for the implementation of service changes that greatly improved service at no increase in operating or capital costs.