Transportation Policy Committee

Transportation Policy Committee

Chairperson's Greeting 2012-2013

On behalf of the members of the University Transportation Policy Committee (TPC), I am pleased to welcome you to the official TPC web page. This site features the ongoing work of the Committee as well as links to related projects and issues regarding the transportation system at UNH-Durham.

During the course of the past ten years, Transportation Services and UNH Facilities has carried out implementation of a series of recommendations developed and advanced from our approved demand management policies and 2004 Campus Master Plan (2003 Final Report and Recommendations and 2004 Campus Master Plan). We are happy to report many successes in improving accessibility and mobility around campus – using sustainable, demand management based approaches. In 2011-2012 UNH Transit provided over 1.2 million transit trips to the community– making us the largest transit system in the state and removing hundreds of thousands of private vehicle miles from the roads. ZipCar and intercity rail and bus ridership have grown significantly over the past few years while parking permit sales have been flat or declining. Bike and moped use has been growing rapidly as well. Our transportation system is dynamic and responds to the economy and changing lifestyles of faculty, staff and students.

Spring 2011 surveys conducted by the TPC demonstrate that our system changes have resulted in improvements and a community willingness to continue investments and improvements. I invite you to view a summary of the survey results posted here. In addition, our efforts translate into successes documented in our Campus Greenhouse Emissions Inventory Reports published by the University Sustainability Academy and available here and reductions in our fleet fuel consumption. Additionally, our growing Eco-Cat fleet of CNG and alternative fueled vehicles is saving UNH money while reducing emissions.

You may also wish to review our March 2012 Transportation Data Benchmark Report to the Committee which highlights the impacts of our coordinated efforts and sets a framework for our continued refinement of new priorities for the coming academic years. Our mission remains to provide ongoing recommendations to the President to expand on our success and provide a long-term, fiscally stable, environmentally responsible transportation services for our community.

The reports found on this page, and ongoing efforts, are the result of over a decade of effort, community input and difficult choices evaluated by Committee members. We have strived to look comprehensively at the difficult and intertwined issues related to transportation, mobility and accessibility at the UNH campus. This work is done with a realization that change will be incremental and challenging.

Many short-term recommendations including: incremental parking increases, expanded core visitor parking, lot consolidation, construction of South Underpass, improved trails to the West Edge, a new western gateway, improvements to the Campus Connector and Wildcat Transit services and improved transit shelters and lighting and new buses – powered by natural gas (CNG) and biodiesel have been completed. Most of these improvements draw support from federal transportation funding provided by the USDOT, USDOE and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Essential resources provided by the UNH Student Transportation Fee have been multiplied by these grants leading to expansion of our services and infrastructure.

The upcoming academic year will herald several long planned, grant supported system improvements including the return of Wildcat Transit service to Rochester, enhanced Wildcat service to Newington and Portsmouth as part of the Little Bay Bridge project and a much anticipated deployment of real-time transit information services.

The Campus Planning Office and University Transportation Services can provide more information on the progress of these new programs and improvements. Readers may also be interested in reviewing the articles on the process, as well as the archive of historical work of the Committee in links at right.

Dick Cannon,
Vice President for Finance & Administration (VPFA home page)

Other Members

Transportation Policy Committee Charter

The UNH Transportation Policy Committee shall serve in an advisory capacity to the President and shall be responsible for making recommendations on the full range of issues that relate to transportation management, including parking policy and regulations. Recommendations will be formulated taking into account the teaching, research, and public service missions of the University and its long-range Master Plan; the transportation needs of faculty, staff, students, and campus visitors; mutual interests of the University and the Town of Durham with respect to transportation including regional transportation goals; and funding sources and levels that are realistic and feasible within UNH budgetary policies and constraints.

The overarching goal of the Committee is to guide the University toward a systemic transportation management plan that emphasizes health and safety, efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and fairness for all University constituents, consistent with priorities set by the Strategic Academic Plan and the Master Plan, and that focuses on both the supply and demand characteristics of transportation.

Send Email to Committee (Note: The Transportation Policy Committee does not consider parking ticket appeals. For operational concerns, please refer to the Parking Home Page.)

Transportation Policy Committee

Send Email to Committee (Note: The Transportation Policy Committee does not consider parking ticket appeals. For operational concerns, please refer to the Parking Home Page.)

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