Miami University Oxford Campus Transportation Study Report of Geographic Analysis and Public Survey Results

This research was conducted by the Department of Geography on behalf of the Miami University President’s Task Force on Environmental Sustainability, in collaboration with the Office of Parking and Transportation. The report was written by Dr. David Prytherch, with research collaboration from Grant Garstka and Debbi White.

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Executive Summary In Spring 2008 a Campus Transportation Study was conducted as part of the Miami University President’s Task for Environmental Sustainability. It sought to understand patterns of transportation to and from campus (commuting trips) and trips on the Oxford campus itself. The study utilized geographic analysis of student, faculty, and staff addresses to map commuting patterns. An on‐line survey provided information on the transport modes used for commuting and on‐campus travel, and solicited public opinion on how to improve campus transportation options.

The results can be summarized as the following: • Geographic analysis shows that Miami University’s Oxford campus draws commuters from 13 counties in three states. Employee commuters travel an average of 34 miles round trip daily, totalling more than 100,000 vehicles.

• Survey analysis shows that a majority of student and employee commutes to campus are made by personal vehicle. A large share of students report making the trip to campus on foot, however a nearly equal share drives. Miami Metro

is utilized for 13% of commuting trips by undergraduate students. Staff and faculty, who largely reside outside Oxford, overwhelmingly use personal vehicles for their commutes. This pattern also holds for in‐town commuters. Respondents living within a one‐mile radius of campus report driving more often than walking.

• On‐campus trips between buildings are made overwhelmingly on foot, although these patterns vary between students, faculty, and staff. However, private vehicles account for 18% of all campus trips.

• When surveyed about their opinions for improving campus trasportation, respondents focused upon improving/expanding Miami Metro, enhancing the supply and management of parking, providing incentives for biking, exploring options for regional shuttles/park and ride, among other topics. These results indicate that Miami University’s Oxford campus has a complex and multi‐ faceted campus transportation system, with significant implications for campus sustainability. While Miami’s “commutershed” has developed to be extensive and reliant on personal automobiles, rising fuel costs and the issue of global climate change suggest the need for transport alternatives. For longer distance commutes these may include greater carpooling or regional shuttles/transit.

Within the City of Oxford significant potential exists for shifting trips from automobiles to more sustainable, alternative modes. Walking remains dominant on campus, but opportunities exist for gains in biking or Miami Metro, perhaps relieving congestion and parking scarcity related to the significant share of vehicular trips. Survey results suggest the Miami Community is anxious for measures that improve and diversify the campus transportation system.

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Introduction In November 2007 Miami University President David Hodge created a President’s Task Force on Environmental Sustainability and charged it with making Miami University “a leader in environmental excellence, by engaging faculty, staff and students in the implementation of environmentally and economically sustainable principles throughout the University’s educational Framework, physical operations, and community programs.” A major challenge to the Task Force was to identify and inventory existing practices related to sustainability. A major focus of the Task Force was campus transportation, which connects campus and the wider community. The ways students, faculty, and staff travel to, from, and across campus has a number of important implications for campus safety, quality of life, environmental sustainability, and physical health, among others.

Yet no comprehensive data existed about campus transportation at Miami University.

Original geographic research was needed. Because of limited time this research focused only on the Oxford campus, though similar study can and should be made of the Hamilton and Middletown campuses. Conducted by researchers in the Department of Geography in collaboration with Miami University Parking and Transportation Services, this study – comprised of a geographic analysis and electronic survey ‐‐ offers new insights into how the Miami University community gets around, the environmental implications of these patterns, and public opinion on how campus transportation may be improved.

Method Part I: Geographic Analysis of Commuting Patterns The first goal of this study was to understand where campus commuters travel from on a daily basis. To better understand the origins of campus commutes we gathered anonymous data on the addresses of students, faculty, and staff from the University Registrar and Human Resources. Addresses were entered into a Geographic Information System (G.I.S.) for geographic analysis.

The resulting maps (figures 1, 2, 3, and 4) reveal the general geographical pattern and extent of Miami University’s “commutershed,” while masking the exact location of employee residences.

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Figure 1: Origins of commuting trips for employees of Miami’s Oxford Campus

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Figure 2: Origins of commutes by Miami University Oxford campus staff

Figure 3: Origins of commutes by Miami University Oxford campus faculty

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Figure 4: Commutes, by zonal distance from campus (i.e. radius from King Library): 47% commute from outside Oxford, 14% commute between 1 and 2 miles, 23% commute between 0.5 and 1 mile, and 16% travel less than 0.5 mile to campus.

Figure 5: Origins of commutes by Oxford campus employees, Oxford area

Miami University Campus Transportation Study 7 Method Part II: Survey Analysis

Overview Although geographic analysis can indicate where commuters are coming from, it cannot tell us how they travel to, from, and around the Oxford campus. Therefore a second major component of this study was to survey Oxford students, faculty, and staff about their daily transportation patterns, including both commutes to and from campus and on‐campus trips between buildings.

The survey was designed to better understand the number of trips taken to, from, and around campus. It also broke these trips down by transport mode (car, Miami Metro, walk, bike, etc.), providing information about the so‐called modal split in both commutes to/from campus and on‐campus trips. Finally, it solicited public opinions about campus transportation at Miami University. An on‐line survey was designed and distributed electronically to all students, faculty, and staff maintaining email addresses at the Miami University Oxford campus. Volunteer participants were asked questions about: 1. affiliation with the University (undergraduate, graduate student, faculty, or staff) 2. number of daily commuting trips to or from campus1 3. transportation modes used for commuting trips to campus

4. rate of car pooling for commuting trips 5. origin of commuting trips (distance from campus and zip code) 6. average commute time 7. number of daily on‐campus trips (between campus locations) 8. transportation modes used for on‐campus trips

9. suggestions about improving campus transportation More than 2100 individuals responded to the survey, including: • 857 undergraduate students • 753 staff members • 321 faculty members • 217 graduate students

The results of the survey are summarized below.

1

Because of confusion with the wording of this survey question (some reported daily trips, others weekly trips), the data generated about number of trips could not be analyzed.

Miami University Campus Transportation Study 8 Commuting Trips to and from Campus To understand how Miami University commuters get to and from campus, the survey asked “When commuting to and from campus, how often do you use each of the following modes of transportation?”

Figure 6: Modal split for commuting trips to/from campus, all commuters:

67.59% commuting trips are by personal vehicle, 19.3% on foot, 7.2% by Miami Metro, 3.4% by bicycle, 1.9% by apartment shuttle, and 0.6% by other modes of transport.

Figure 7: Modal split for undergraduate commuting trips: walk 39.5%, vehicle 38.1%, Miami Metro 12.9%, apartment shuttle 4.8%, bike 3.8%, other 0.9%.

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Figure 8: Modal split for staff commuting trips: vehicle 94.2%, walk 3.2%, bike 1.4%, Miami Metro 0.8%, other 0.3%.

Figure 9: Modal split for faculty commuting trips: vehicle 85.6%, walk 7.1%, bike 4.7%, Miami Metro 1.6%, other 0.7%, apartment shuttle 0.2%.
Figure 10: Modal split for graduate student commuting trips: vehicle 62%, Miami metro 15.6%, walk 14.5%, bike 7.1%, other 0.5%, apartment shuttle 0.4%.

Miami University Campus Transportation Study 10 On‐Campus Trips To understand how the Miami University community gets around on the Oxford campus, the survey asked “Once on campus, how often do you use each of the following modes of transportation to travel from building to building?”
Figure 11: Modal split for on‐campus trips, all users: walk 72.1%, vehicle 18.1%, Miami Metro 3.92%, other 2.85%, bike 2.78%, shuttle 0.8%.
Figure 12: Undergraduate on‐ campus trips: walk 80.9%, Miami Metro 7.8%, vehicle 6.2%, bike 4%, other 0.7%, apartment shuttle 0.2%.

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Figure 13: Staff on‐ campus trips: walk 56.4%, vehicle 35.1%, other 7%, bike 1%, Miami Metro 0.4%, shuttle 0%.
Figure 14: Faculty on‐ campus trips: walk 79.8%, vehicle 15.4%, bike 2.8%, other 0.8%, Miami Metro 0.4%, shuttle 0%.
Figure 15: Graduate student on‐campus trips: walk 77.5%, personal vehicle 13.6%, Miami Metro 4.8%, bike 3.5%, apartment shuttle 0%, other 0.6%

Miami University Campus Transportation Study 12 Public Opinions about Improving Campus Transportation To gage public opinion about campus transportation at Miami University’s Oxford campus, the survey included an open‐ended question “Do you have additional comments on how to improve or diversify commuting transportation options at Miami University’s Oxford campus?”

A total of 987 people responded to this question. Their comments ranged in focus, and many suggestions touched upon a number of different yet recurring themes. The major suggestion thematic categories were the following: • improve parking • promote biking • improve and/or expand Miami Metro service • regional shuttle/park and ride • carpooling • other We analyzed each comment and tabulated the major theme(s) discussed in each. Because some comments addressed multiple themes, they were entered into multiple thematic categories. The number of survey comments that touched upon particular theme was totaled, and is displayed below.

Figure 16: Total number of survey comments per major thematic category

We further categorized the variety of different comments into sub‐categories.

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Figure 17: Miami Metro‐ related comments per subcategory

Figure 18: Parking‐ related comments per subcategory

Figure 19: Bicycle‐related comments per subcategory

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Discussion Miami University’s Existing Campus Transportation Patterns Miami employees maintain home addresses in at least 13 counties in three states. Although a significant number of employees maintain home addresses in the Oxford area, analysis of distances to trip origins suggests that the average Miami employee has a round‐trip commute of nearly 34 miles. Although the origins of work commutes are geographically dispersed, there are significant clusters, including by not limited to Oxford itself.

Our analysis of commute trips beyond a 2‐mile radius from Oxford (assumed to be by personal vehicle) shows that Miami commuters travel more than 100,000 vehicular miles daily.

As a whole, survey responses indicate that Miami University community commutes to/from campus largely by personal vehicle (67% of all trips), while a substantial proportion walks to campus (19% of total trips). The choice of transportation mode for these commutes varies, however, between students, staff, faculty, and graduate students. Because many students live within the compact urban area of Miami University and Oxford’s Mile Square, many undergraduate students report walking (39%), taking Miami Metro (12.9%), or biking (3.8%) to campus. Nonetheless, nearly as many undergraduates drive to campus (38%) as walk. Graduate students report driving to campus 62% of the time. The dominance of the personal vehicle as a means for commuting is even more pronounced for faculty and staff commuters.

Of the 753 staff members who responded, they report driving to campus 94% of the time. Faculty commuters also rely heavily on personal vehicles to commute (85.2%), while they report walking 7.1% and biking 4.2% of the time. Even though many respondents report living within a one mile radius of King Library, and proximate enough for easy walking or biking, they report driving for 43% of campus trips, while walking 37.2% and biking only 6.4% of the time.

Because Miami University’s Oxford campus is compactly designed, it is perhaps not surprising that on‐campus trips are made on foot a large majority of the time (72%). This applies equally to undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. However, for all on‐ campus trips the next most important mode is the personal vehicle (18.1%). And patterns of mode choice vary significantly between undergraduate students, faculty, and staff. A vast majority of undergraduate students walk between campus destinations, and the remainder of trips are divided between other modes. While a majority of staff members also walk on campus (56.4%), they also drive on campus for 35.1% of their trips. This pattern is similar for Miami faculty members, most of whom walk on campus (79%), though more than 15% of campus trips are by personal vehicles.

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An important goal of the study was to assess how many commuters use alternatives to the personal vehicle for their trips to/from campus. And it sought to assess feasibility of switching commuting and on‐campus trips to more sustainable modes.

Figure 20: Modal split for all commuters who report living within 1 mile of King Library: vehicle 43.6%, walk 37.2%, Miami Metro 8.7%, bike 6.4%, apartment shuttle 3.5%, other 0.4%.

Results (Figure 20) suggest that commuters who live within one mile either walk, ride Miami Metro, or bike to campus for more than half of their trips. This suggests that Oxford and the Miami Campus remains walkable, bikeable, and effectively served by campus transit. And the Miami University community largely takes advantage of these more sustainable modes. However, more than 43% trips by respondents who live close to campus are taken by personal vehicle. Nonetheless, the compact layout of the campus and surrounding Oxford neighborhoods suggest that many of these vehicular trips could still be practically served by alternative modes.

How Miami’s Oxford Campus Compares Because of the unique geographical characteristics of any given campus, it is difficult to compare campus transportation at Miami University’s Oxford campus with peer institutions. Moreover, campus transportation surveys of this type are rare. However, a recently published study2 examines modal split at eight “bicycle and pedestrian friendly campuses.” Miami University is historically a very pedestrian friendly campus, and may

2

Balsas, C. 2003. Sustainable transportation planning on college campuses. Transport Policy 10, pp. 35‐49.

Miami University Campus Transportation Study 16 be included in such a group of potentially sustainable campus transportation systems. Of those three are geographically similar to Miami and Oxford. Mode Cornell

UC Boulder UW Madison Miami

car 40% 36% 23% 42% bus 9% 24% 12% 5% bike 6% 12% 15% 3% walk 45% 28% 49% 45% Overall, transportation patterns at Miami’s Oxford campus are comparable with these campuses. The percentage share for personal vehicles is higher than the other campus, but the share occupied by walking is also comparatively high. However, Miami’s campus transportation system shows a bimodal distribution between auto‐dominant commuting and walking for on‐campus trips. Miami’s transportation system is not as evenly distributed as these peer campuses, showing much smaller shares for both biking and bus. A comparably balanced transportation system at Miami could be achieved through small gains in these alternative modes.

A More Sustainable Campus Transportation System? A sustainable transportation system has been defined as one that satisfies current transport and mobility needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own3. Sustainable campus transportation planning can thus mean providing incentives for the use of alternative modes, while discouraging the use of single‐ occupancy cars by managing demand and linking campus transportation and land‐use planning4. Adopting what planners call Transportation Demand Management can simultaneously promote the sustainability, healthfulness, and livability of the campus community5.

The results of this study suggest transportation at Miami University’s Oxford campus is relatively sustainable in comparison with the nation as a whole, and compares favorably with selected peer institutions. The compact layout of both the campus and surrounding Oxford community enable many students, faculty, and staff to get around by alternative

3 Black, W. 1997. North American transportation: Perspectives on research needs and sustainable transportation. Journal of Transport Geography

5(1), 12‐19; Richardson, B. 1999. Towards a policy on a sustainable transportation system. Transportation Research Record

1670, 27‐34. 4 Balsas, C. Sustainable transportation planning, 37. 5 Toor, W. and S. Havlick, 2004. Transportation and Sustainable Campus Communities: Issues, Examples, and Solutions.

Washington, D.C.: Island Press.

Miami University Campus Transportation Study 17 modes like walking, transit, or bike. Yet Miami’s campus transportation system is probably not by most long‐term measures sustainable. We attempted to calculate the carbon footprint for Miami’s campus transportation system based on our study results. We estimate that commutes by campus employees alone total more than 100,000 vehicle miles traveled daily. Assuming fleet average fuel economy, this means the total emission of more than 102,000 pounds of Carbon Dioxide each typical work day. Geographic analysis and survey results also point to heavy reliance on personal vehicles even within the Oxford community, and even in close proximity to campus, with associated issues of congestion, parking scarcity, safety, and emissions of greenhouse gases. Even on campus a significant proportion of trips are made by personal vehicle. We were unable to calculate the emissions resulting from these short distance vehicular trips, but they may be considerable.

It will remain a challenge to promote the sustainability of Miami University’s campus transportation system, and it is not the role of this report to suggest policy options. The heavy reliance on personal vehicles for campus commuting revealed by the study poses a significant challenge. But any efforts to reduce the number of single‐occupancy vehicular trips could thus generate proportionally significant benefits to campus sustainability and quality of life. This would be particularly true and feasible for short‐ distance trips within the Miami University campus and surrounding City of Oxford community. Few geographical barriers exist to developing an even more balanced and sustainable transportation system given the compactness of both campus and town. Although walking trips remain very numerous, gains are yet possible. And the relatively low share of both Miami Metro and especially biking suggest opportunities for significant gains.

Campus transportation at Miami University in Oxford is a complex and multi‐faceted system. The Miami University community may be justifiably proud of the relative sustainability of its transportation patterns. Yet, the degree to which Miami’s Oxford campus has become a “car campus” may be a concern needing to be addressed. Purposeful and coordinated management of the entire campus transportation system through Transportation Demand Management will be necessary to modify the travel patterns revealed by this study. In addition to promoting greater campus sustainability, such a systematic approach may address the significant frustrations expressed by respondents in the survey. If these responses are any indication, the Miami University community may be receptive to new approaches that offer greater convenience and diversity of mode choice in how they travel to, from, and around campus.