New pay and display parking?

Ginny

Just came in this morning and theres a new pay and display parking machine set up in the car park between the students centre and the health sciences, its on the back of the car park near the health sciences. It can't be for the MBRS as they have swipe to their parking.
Anyway anyone know anything about this?

Red Alert

What is MBRS just for the record?

Dr Strange

MBRS = Medical Bureau of Road Safety

farva

I saw that this morning myself, i was going to post about it but you beat me to it! I wonder if this is a sign of things to come? I know that they are planning to do something drastic about the parking for the 2008/2009 year but I didn't think that the solution would be pay and display parking! That is the worst solution of them all! I'm glad that I'm a final year...

Breezer

farva wrote:

That is the worst solution of them all! I'm glad that I'm a final year...

I hear you - if they bring this in I mightn't miss Belfield as much come next April when I'm shipped off to some hospital.

Then again as long as the county council don't slap meters in the housing estates nearby I'm not too worried what UCD does.

Off-topic: School runs in cars should be banned in the mornings! My journey time was cut in half this morning!

vote4pedro

Yeah I was also in in half the time this morning. Makes you wonder - for all the millions that has/will be invested in roads, LUAS, Metro, QBC; would it not be cheaper, easier and more worthwhile to just buy a fleet of state of the art, highly subsidised school buses and encourage the vast majority of kids to take a personal bus service in the same way they (seem to) do in the US (big yellow buses pulling up to each estate kind of thing)

Pythia

vote4pedro wrote: »

Yeah I was also in in half the time this morning. Makes you wonder - for all the millions that has/will be invested in roads, LUAS, Metro, QBC; would it not be cheaper, easier and more worthwhile to just buy a fleet of state of the art, highly subsidised school buses and encourage the vast majority of kids to take a personal bus service in the same way they (seem to) do in the US (big yellow buses pulling up to each estate kind of thing)

Everyone in a town in the US tends to go to the same school, while in Dublin there could be loads of schools for just one area. It wouldn't work very well compared with America.

Chakar

Here's an article in the Irish Times on the 3rd October 2007 about a new State-sponsored school bus service in Dublin.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/motors/2007/1003/1191223058653.html

If you don't have a subscription then you'll have to use the campus computers to read the article. I'm not sure if there's off-campus access.

Vorsprung

Chakar wrote: »

Here's an article in the Irish Times on the 3rd October 2007 about a new State-sponsored school bus service in Dublin.

http://www.ireland.com/newspaper/motors/2007/1003/1191223058653.html

If you don't have a subscription then you'll have to use the campus computers to read the article. I'm not sure if there's off-campus access.

Copy und paste it please!

Riamfada

This is sad. As much as id love to couple my 1 hour cruise for parking with paying for the pleasure how am I supposed to pay postgrad fees on top of 1500 +/- 200 per year parking (yes I worked it out) . Ah well ..... ill just park in Clonskeagh and enjoy the walk. I suggest the few hundered cars who park there do the same.

Chakar

It's a skit about the planned initiative but nevertheless.

Kilian Doyle
Emissions: driving the kids to school We all got a terrible shock here in Emissions Towers a while back. A headline jumped out from the front page of one of the Sunday newspapers: "Dempsey targets the school run in Dublin." Oh dear, said I. The poor man's finally snapped.

I had visions of our esteemed Minister, sniper's rifle in hand, combat jacket wrapped around his taut physique, his furrowed brow smeared artfully with camouflage paint, sitting atop a mobile phone mast in Cabinteely on a Friday morning, taking potshots at passing yummy mummies in their SUVs.

"Yis fuppin' fuppers," says he, eyeing a particularly obnoxious Hyundai Santa Fe with one solitary child lost in the depths of its back seat.

"Yis have my plans ruined, the lot of ye. How am I supposed to realise my dream of free-flowin' traffic and spring lambs frolickin' on the grass margins of every dual carriageway in the land wit' ye lot cloggin' every road up?

"Will yis get out and walk! Yir fuppin' podgy lump of a son will be dead of a heart attack by 12, ye silly witch ye!"

Aims. Fires a volley of rounds.

Hits a bus stop.

Fourteen Filipino nurses are killed by ricocheting bullets.

Runs away.

Found nine hours later, hidden inside a traffic cone on the M50. Charlie

Bird is on the scene, giving himself a hernia live on the Six One News.

Mrs Emissions watches poor Noel being dragged off, pale-faced.

"Dempsey? Who'd have thunk it?" She turns and stares accusatorily at me.

"It's your fault for always having a go at him," says she, a Meath woman.

They stick together, that lot. "He's not the worst of them, you know."

Other than the headline that inspired my surreal vision, only one bit of the above is true. He's not the worst of them. (Not that that's any great recommendation. It's like saying he's not too ugly. For a warthog.)

And he does have the right idea. This business of ferrying kids to school has reached epidemic proportions.

Whatever about the effect it is having on the frazzled commuters of the country, their already soul-sapping journeys compounded by the presence of an extra 75,000 cars joining them once the schools return, think of the children.

Half of all Dublin primary school kids are driven to school. I imagine it's a similar story elsewhere.

It's hardly a coincidence, then, that obesity levels are soaring among our youth. Our obsession with our cars is killing our kids. Simple as that.

Oh, all right, maybe it's not that simple. Many parents have no option other than driving their brood to school.

Which is where Dempsey comes in. This fine fellow is actively looking into supplying a State-sponsored school bus service in Dublin. If he pulls it off, he'll be the toast of the town. If he doesn't, he may just be toast.

A note of caution, Minister. Be prepared for those ungrateful little oiks to throw it all back in your face.

His colleagues in the Department of Education have just spent €36.5 million on fitting seatbelts to all 3,000 school buses in the State.
And what's happening? The little blighters are vandalising them. Minister for seatbelts Sean Haughey said he was "astonished" that anyone would do such a thing.

Honestly, what did you expect? This is a country where 10-year-olds go to school with Glocks in one pocket and an ounce of hash in the other.

Recent statistics plucked from the nether regions of my brain suggest the average boy has obliterated 53,743 videogame bad guys by the time his voice breaks. What's a few slashed seatbelts to such hardened killers?

There was talk of banning repeat offenders from buses. Meaning they'd have to be driven to school. Back to square one.

I've a better solution.

Tell them Dempsey is out there, somewhere, rifle in hand, waiting for them to make the first move.

By the time someone tells them they have a telltale red laser dot on their foreheads, it'll be too late.

Tough. But, you'll no doubt agree, fair.

© 2007 The Irish Times

Red Alert

Has anyone got an idea what the actual parking situation in 08/09 will be? Seems like the college will keep it fully under wraps (aided by an inept SU) as long as possible.

Riamfada

Not a peep from them since they said they were introducing pay parking across the board this time last year and were meeting with Dan Hayden about it. That was the last I heard (from Dan) and it was meant to happen this year but it looks like next year now. I doubt it will be announced. Like the SU Center car park it will just be brought in

Tayto2000

The multi story is visible on the leaflet for the Student Centre extension... It's supposed to go where the old hockey pitch is now. Probably 2009/2010 at the earliest for that though...

Ginny

Well staff wise we've been told nothing, we're sick to death of commuters parking in and around there and walking down to the N11, they do it in droves every morning!

Ado86

Will the new pay and display be based on an hourly rate or will there be a flat rate for the day ? If its hourly it will cost those with long timetables a fortune !!! Myself included in that !! :mad:

Riamfada

50 cent an hour was the last quote.

• commuters cant afford 50 cent but unemployed students can
• leaving campus asap and not going to the library or at weekend to avoid the cost of staying there
• 5 days a week for 8 hours a day for the average student is 500 per semester. I for one am in college about 10-12 hours per day on weekdays and almost every Saturday and Sunday. So add that on aswell.
  

If commuters are the problem then arrange parking barries with passes for staff and students who register their details when they start (griffith sent me a car registration pack and a parking sticker in 2001 when i went there). However 1000 or so staff and students paying 50 cent an hour ....... that'll pay another Community Musical ! !

As I said Ill park close to UCD and walk in or else see what my staff job gets me. Im asuming staff will not have to pay or there will be designated free staff parking spaces .

Ginny

We've said this ourselves, all they have to do is print a duplicate copy of the staff/student car with only the barcode on it, display it on the windscreen and hey presto, no big new system needed...it would be a quick solution, if they wanted to go down the disc route they have time to set it up for next academic year.
Myself I'm sick to my back teeth of having to arrive for work 45 minutes earlier so I can cruise around looking for a space.

Breezer

Grimes wrote: »

However 1000 or so staff and students paying 50 cent an hour ....... that'll pay another Community Musical ! !

In fairness the musical was excellent and well worth the money put into it IMO. I agree with what you're getting at though.

The way I see it, they can manage to stick services staff on the vet car park all day every time there's something on in O'Reilly Hall. They're supposed to be conducting checks for student/staff ID on a regular basis but I haven't seen it happen in a good few months now, and the commuters are coming back. Enforce the existing system better and there'll be less need for other measures (I won't say 'no need,' but enforce the system first and let's see where it gets us.)

convert

When I started in UCD there used to be an annual parking ticket that staff and students could buy. Everyone who parked in UCD was meant to have one, and checks were carried out each day in the carparks. I think it was also possible to buy daily and weekly tickets for those who didn't regularly drive into college. However, college stopped enforcing it and people stopped buying the tickets. Back then it was much easier to enforce it because there was only about one-third of the carparking space that there is now.

Something similar should probably be implemented again. It'd work out much cheaper than pay and display (those with tickets should be able to park in the pay and display areas for free), and would mean that people who hadn't got the annual ticket (ie- those who use UCD as a free park and ride carpark would have to fork out). Preferably, I'd like to see each and every one of them clamped. Every day!

The pay and display would be great for those who are just visiting UCD on business or for a few hours, etc.

Blut

I recently wrangled a guaranteed parking space for myself for the last few weeks of term and its absolutely amazing. No more having to leave home 30min earlier, no more having to drive around wasting petrol, nothing. I just leave home, 10min later I'm in ucd and parked and 5min later I'm in a lecture/library/whatever. Every day. Sooooo much better than before...

I'll be gone next year but they really should just implement some sort of basic disc system. I'm sure most students who drive could afford to pay 20e or so to get a parking disc for the year, thatd get rid of all the park&riders who use up so many of the spaces near the N11. Campus-wide pay&display is just ridiculous really if its gonna be 20c an hour.

farva

Blut wrote: »

I recently wrangled a guaranteed parking space for myself for the last few weeks of term and its absolutely amazing.

How did you manage that!?!?

I don't think that the problem is the park and riders, its that there are too many people looking to park in too few spaces every day in UCD.

Breezer

farva wrote: »

I don't think that the problem is the park and riders, its that there are too many people looking to park in too few spaces every day in UCD.

The park and riders certainly contribute, but yes, this is the main problem.

blut wrote:

I just leave home, 10min later I'm in ucd

Case in point. Not attacking you personally Blut, you're not the only one. I'm just making the point that a lot of people driving from close enough to UCD results in the car parks filling rather quickly.

Ernie Ball

The 'pay by the hour' plan that Hugh and Co. tried to impose is dead in the water. The staff unions rightly put their foot down as it would represent a change in working conditions.

What it's likely to be replaced with is anyone's guess. But if they hope to have something in place by autumn, I can assure you that they have as yet negotiated nothing with the unions. So I'd expect the status quo to continue to be the case next year.

Blut

Breezer wrote: »

Case in point. Not attacking you personally Blut, you're not the only one. I'm just making the point that a lot of people driving from close enough to UCD results in the car parks filling rather quickly.

Oh, completely. I remember being in a lecture last year with 5 friends and it turned out we'd all driven in. 6 people who all live within a 5-10min drive of each other, the furthest away from UCD being about 20min away in Killiney. Its pretty crazy but theres not much that can be done about it until carpool lanes and such like they have in the states come in.

Park and riders are a major problem too though in my opinion, theres no way in hell all the carparks on the N11 side of the gates should be full at 10am - 90% of students are not in by then. I've been in campus at 11pm and seen loads of car parks quite full too, obviously cars just left there while people are on holidays or off boozing.

oh and how I managed my situation...ask me again in May, until then its top secret

Breezer

Blut wrote: »

6 people who all live within a 5-10min drive of each other, the furthest away from UCD being about 20min away in Killiney.

In fairness, Killiney is more than 20 mins away. About 45 in the mornings, half an hour most of the time and 20 at the dead of night if every light stays green for you. Trust me, I'm not too far from there myself. But admittedly it's a hell of a lot better than coming from Gorey or somewhere, or even out the north or west sides of the city.

redcar

I come from Wicklow town every day, about an hour drive. To be honest doesn't bother me a whole lot getting in a bit early for a space, a lot of students drive so its only natural. But the people who are just in UCD for the "craic" and take up space drives me crazy. When I say "craic" I am talking about people who drive in and take their dog for a walk around campus, while people who need the space to do important things can't find one.

One woman I see her most mornings, drive in, take the dog for a walk. Or the people who pop into Centra while taking up a disabled space, but having the hazzards on because when the hazzards are on its all ok.

It really can't be that hard to bring in a system to keep them out and free up some spaces, like its not rocket science. They seem to be making a mountain out of a mole hill.

Ernie Ball

There are some fairly obvious solutions. Free permits for all staff and any students outside of a certain radius of the campus (or who live within 1 mile of the routes of the number 10 and 46A buses) would probably solve the problem all on its own by eliminating all park and riders, tourists and those students who have absolutely no need to drive to campus.

One reason by-the-hour payment is a terrible idea is that it gives staff a disincentive for remaining on campus any longer than is essential.

Red Alert

Ernie Ball wrote: »

those students who have absolutely no need to drive to campus

as decided by yourself. If you look at the ridiculous transport situation for example you'll see that it's actually easier for someone from Kilmacanogue to get to UCD rather than somebody from Dundrum/Ballinteer.

Ernie Ball

Red Alert wrote: »

as decided by yourself.

No, not as decided by myself. Obviously if this were done in a smart way (nothing is less certain with Hughy and Co., but that's another matter) the bus routes would be taken into account, including the fact that Dundrum and Ballinteer and Rathfarnham are poorly served (I live in Rathfarnham).

But anyone who lives within a mile of campus or of the 10 and 46A bus routes has no business being allowed to take a car onto campus.

red_ice

Personally, i think its a great idea. This way i can park there and not have to worry(not that i really do anyways) about not being a student or member of staff in anyway at all. Brilliant!

50 cent an hour (if that was the quote), is a great price to pay for parking, count yourself lucky its not alot more - when you get your multistory car park you can bet your ass it will be, they dont come cheap!

I wonder if i can use that aswell

And yes, i do frequent the premises, but not for an educational purpose.

Ernie Ball

red_ice wrote: »

Personally, i think its a great idea. This way i can park there and not have to worry(not that i really do anyways) about not being a student or member of staff in anyway at all. Brilliant!

I think you misunderstood the idea. Permits would be required to park on campus. Staff get them free. Students get them according to need. Freeloaders like you get clamped.

convert

When I started my postgrad I had the option of renting or buying a car and driving up and down from carlow/kildare/wicklow boarder. I did a few test runs before deciding that it was actually better to spend dead money on rent rather than invest in a car. That wasn't just because it would take about 2 hours to commute each way each day at peak time, but if I wanted to come into college a little later in the day (ie - after 10am) it would be impossible to find a parking space.

I really think some sort of disk parking for students and staff would be the way to go, with pay and display for non-frequent users (ie - visitors) and then clamp those who park and ride. (It'd also give extra fund to Brady and co!)

Ernie Ball

convert wrote: »

(It'd also give extra fund to Brady and co!)

...to give to their consultant friends.

Ginny

red_ice wrote: »

Personally, i think its a great idea. This way i can park there and not have to worry(not that i really do anyways) about not being a student or member of staff in anyway at all. Brilliant!

50 cent an hour (if that was the quote), is a great price to pay for parking, count yourself lucky its not alot more - when you get your multistory car park you can bet your ass it will be, they dont come cheap!

I wonder if i can use that aswell

And yes, i do frequent the premises, but not for an educational purpose.

If the pay and display came in on campus for everyone, I for one would be looking for a new job.
All it would do is open UCD up to more commuters thinking well for 4 euro or so I can park there instead of town..

Breezer

Ernie Ball wrote: »

But anyone who lives within a mile of campus or of the 10 and 46A bus routes has no business being allowed to take a car onto campus.

I live somewhere between a mile and two miles from the 46a route. The thing, it's the very end of the 46a route. People who don't get the bus that far don't realise that the thing takes forever to get to the N11. If I were to get the 46a in the mornings (I have done on several occasions), it would take me approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to campus (45 minutes on the bus plus a 25 minute walk from my house). According to redcar, it takes him slightly less time than this to get to UCD from Wicklow town.

That's without taking into account people who need to be on campus when there is no bus service (people conducting experiments that have to be checked at night, for example, or even those who take advantage of the library's extended opening hours around exam time). While I can see where you're coming from, your logic is flawed. It simply isn't possible to design a system that will take everything into account.

TBH, I've recently come to the conclusion that as it stands, the system is fine. Those who are in early/late enough can get spaces. Those who aren't can park in nearby estates and walk for an extra few minutes (what I do most of the time). A multistory car park is on the cards, which should make up for the fact that the county councils are inevitably going to introduce pay and display in the estates at some point.

Ernie Ball

Breezer wrote: »

I live somewhere between a mile and two miles from the 46a route. The thing, it's the very end of the 46a route. People who don't get the bus that far don't realise that the thing takes forever to get to the N11. If I were to get the 46a in the mornings (I have done on several occasions), it would take me approximately 1 hour and 10 minutes to get to campus (45 minutes on the bus plus a 25 minute walk from my house). According to redcar, it takes him slightly less time than this to get to UCD from Wicklow town.

How long do either of you spend looking for parking when you arrive at UCD?

That's without taking into account people who need to be on campus when there is no bus service (people conducting experiments that have to be checked at night, for example, or even those who take advantage of the library's extended opening hours around exam time). While I can see where you're coming from, your logic is flawed. It simply isn't possible to design a system that will take everything into account.

Other universities worldwide with limited parking facilities and excessive demand seem to have solved these problems. It's not rocket science. Since demand after hours is a fraction of what it is during business hours, it's a simple matter to make the permits necessary between the hours of 7am and 6pm. Those who need to be on campus late won't have to worry about it.

Ah, you say, but what about someone who has to come in early and stay late and doesn't live far enough outside of UCD for a permit?

Answer: those 5 people are out of luck. As opposed to the hundreds inconvenienced every day under the current system not to mention the petrol wasted, the CO2 spewed into the atmosphere, etc.

TBH, I've recently come to the conclusion that as it stands, the system is fine. Those who are in early/late enough can get spaces.

You seem to be forgetting that lecturers who can't get spaces under the current system risk leaving entire lecture theatres full of students with nothing to do. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. The current system is completely unworkable.

Breezer

Ernie Ball wrote: »

How long do either of you spend looking for parking when you arrive at UCD?

I assume what you're getting at is that the time redcar spends looking for parking adds extra time to his journey. I can't speak for him obviously but based on my experience if he gets in early enough or parks in the estates the answer is very little.

Ernie Ball wrote:

Other universities worldwide with limited parking facilities and excessive demand seem to have solved these problems. It's not rocket science.

Most insititutions worldwide have solved problems that seem incapable of being solved in Ireland. Not the point, I know, but I'm not going to hold my breath on UCD coming up with a fantastic solution any time soon.

Ah, you say, but what about someone who has to come in early and stay late and doesn't live far enough outside of UCD for a permit?

Answer: those 5 people are out of luck.

I'd seriously dispute that figure. But neither of us have statistics so I'll leave it go for the moment.

Ernie Ball wrote:

You seem to be forgetting that lecturers who can't get spaces under the current system risk leaving entire lecture theatres full of students with nothing to do. This has happened to me on more than one occasion. The current system is completely unworkable.

With one notable exception, my lecturers seem to manage fine, despite many of them commuting to and from hospitals throughout the day. Perhaps they've decided that on their large salaries they can afford the pay and display car parks, I don't know. Or maybe they just park off-campus.

I'll retract my earlier statement. The system doesn't work 'just fine;' there are some inconveniences. However, 'completely unworkable' is also a gross exaggeration. And believe me, I'm not the type to just leave things go if I feel there's a problem.

Red Alert

I'd go with number plate scanning and barriers. You'd register your car on the SIS system, anyone else has to pay, no way to escape. Also would be handy in that you could come and leave by any entrance as there'd be no need for the traffic calming gates.