Driving Habits of Studley Campus Commuters: Who’s driving to Studley Campus, where are they coming from and why do they drive?

Abstract

The need to reduce vehicular traffic to Dalhousie campuses serves a variety of purposes. Environmentally it will cut down on our greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution in Halifax. Economically it will reduce the amount of money Dalhousie currently spends on maintaining parking facilities and free-up valuable land that is currently reserved for parking. It will also make the surrounding community safer by making the surrounding streets and roads more pedestrian friendly. However, in order to reduce vehicle traffic to Dalhousie we must examine the habits and characteristics of those who currently make the daily commute. That is the purpose of this research study. By gaining a better understanding of who is driving to campus we will be able to make appropriate recommendations to encourage transportation alternatives. We conducted 96 face to face surveys and two interviews with parking administration staff. We discovered that faculty and staff are driving more than students proportionately. We also found that those who live within a 10km radius of campus have the greatest potential to find alternatives to driving single occupancy vehicles. We also found that the current carpooling program at Dalhousie is too restrictive and not advertised enough. Our findings have led us to recommend that Dalhousie increase the price of parking, expand the U-Pass program to include faculty and staff, and to improve its carpooling program.