University of Houston Transportation Management Plan

OWNER

University of Houston

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Size: 667 acres

Services: Traffic and Transportation Planning

Completed: 2014

University of Houston Transportation Management Plan

Houston
Texas

Projected growth of 45,000 students by 2016 at the University of Houston triggered the need for a comprehensive transportation plan. Walter P Moore was engaged to identify current conditions on the campus and maximize all potential multi-modal opportunities.

Walter P Moore - reviewed all aspects of the University’s parking and transportation department – including staff, salaries, policies, and operations. The study suggested staff reductions and other changes that reduced operations costs. We developed a system for data collection and analysis and assembled an operation manual.

Our plan tied transportation improvements to campus expansion plans and helped maximize light rail and bus services. We also planned intra-campus routes to accommodate vehicular traffic and encourage pedestrian movement.

Using Mobility GIS software, we analyzed parking accumulation patterns then built a dynamic timeline model demonstrating when they will need to bring on new parking inventory. The results showed that incentivizing carpooling could eliminate one new garage – saving about $45 million.

Our recommendation to use License Plate Recognition software, confirmed that over 70% of parkers had no university parking decal. We recommended universal parking to free up lots that had previously been restricted to certain tags leaving vacant spaces and moving much of the parking out of the campus center to perimeter zones, which are served by shuttles. This reduces carbon emissions and noise, increases pedestrian safety, and helps to create a more landscaped campus.

Walter P Moore’s three decades of experience on the campus allowed us to draw from a tremendous well of knowledge. As a result, we were asked to update this plan in 2019 and to conduct similar studies at the Sugar Land, Victoria, and Clear Lake campuses.