The document is a recommendation memo from a student to the Transportation Services Department at Washington State University regarding the lack of affordable parking for students. It summarizes research conducted including a student survey that found most students think there is a problem with parking availability and cost. The recommendation is for WSU to make the red, yellow, green lots and two parking garages available to students with permits for $100 per year from 7am-5pm Monday through Friday to provide more convenient and affordable parking for students.

1. Devon Ehlert
Eng 402.18
March 1, 2016
Parking on Campus at Washington State University
To: Transportation Services Department at WSU
From: Devon Ehlert, Student at WSU
Subject: Recommendation Memo
Date: March 1, 2016
Purpose
The purpose of this memo is to present the issue of the current lack of parking for the students at
Washington State University. The goal of presenting this issue is to change the parking process
with convenient, affordable parking for students that attend the university. With the amount of
tuition we students pay every year there should be ample parking for us to attend the classes we
shell out thousands of dollars for. Not all students can live within reasonable walking distance to
class and sometimes it is a huge inconvenience and impractical to expect students to walk to
class every day. The cost of parking at campus is extremely high especially when looking at the
universities market of college students so we need more available parking spaces allocated to
current students for a feasible cost.
Summary
With this research assignment I have found that the problem is that there is not ample parking for
the students here at Washington State University at a reasonable cost that makes sense to charge
a student paying thousands for tuition. I have proposed that the red, yellow, green and the two
parking garages on campus be offered up to students to park at a more practical rate of $100
yearly so that students can conveniently drive and park on campus if they so choose.
Bottom line is that the availability of parking on campus is extremely limited and the parking
that is available for students is overpriced. Students here are paying thousands of dollars for their
education and cost of living that there should be a break when it comes to parking for the classes
they pay for. But there is no slack in that department. As a student here at Washington State
University living off campus I have faced this problem firsthand and experienced the
inconveniences of the availability, or lack thereof, parking on campus. This recommendation is
designed to use the lots we already have on campus to their full capability and to reduce the cost
of using these lots for current students. This is a goal that can be achieved here at the university.
Introduction
The problem that the proposed project addressed was not the fact that resources are lacking with
the parking on campus but rather that the parking spaces we do have at Washington State aren’t
being used to their full potential. There are plenty of available parking lots close to campus that
are 90% of the time empty or only have a couple of cars in them. The Transportation Services

2. Devon Ehlert
Eng 402.18
March 1, 2016
department at the university has a big play in this recommendation and what I have proposed will
need not only that department but also the university to back it.
The problem is not that students don’t have ample ways to get to class as there is a public bus
system, a park and ride, and most students choose to walk to class as they live close enough to
campus. The problem is that if students want to have a pass to park on campus most can’t afford
the astronomical pricing that WSU has offered for the yearly passes. It is not far-fetched to
assume that most students can’t, or are unwilling to pay hundreds of dollars annually to park
their car for a couple hours on top of whatever they are paying for tuition. I feel that the least the
university can do is have convenient parking during the busy school hours Monday through
Friday for a price that is more realistic for broke college kids. One might be thinking that even
with all that extra parking how would there be enough spots but not everyone would use these
lots as not every student has a car, a large percentage of students are in walking distance, and
there is a free public transit that serves over 1.4 million rides in a year that is always another
option for affordable transportation.
The frustration I have with the universities scarce parking options have led me to brainstorm
many different viable situations for student parking on campus. Since I have dealt with the
problem firsthand I have a fire lit under me about this project and am passionate about finding a
solution that is beneficial to not only the students, but to staff, and Washington State University
as a whole. I may be frustrated with the current situation that the university has set in place but I
do understand that it is implemented for a reason. People shouldn’t be able to park wherever they
want and there should be restrictions put in place so that the campus is in order and what I am
proposing ties this in with also having more available spots in some lots during school hours. I
don’t recommend that WSU changes their whole system I would just like to find some sort of
resolution that benefits both the students who want to take advantage of parking on campus and
the transportation services department.
Students that live off campus and would like to have the option to drive themselves to class will
mainly be benefited with this recommendation. The party that detriments the most would be the
Transportation Services department at Washington State University as they wouldn’t be
receiving as much funding from the parking permits that are an upwards of $656 each yearly as
my proposal recommends offering the same lots at $100 a year for the students to be able to park
if they have a permit from 7 am to 4 pm Monday through Friday.
ResearchMethods
Over this research process I have figured out my main goal of what it is the students want here at
WSU and also the plans that the university actually has in action for a new parking procedure.
Starting with the student voices and what they want I figured this information out by conducting
a survey that I then posted on numerous social media sites and had friends share as well so that I
could gather the most correct data.
Task 1: Survey
For my first task what I did was make a survey directed towards all students at WSU and firstly,
asked if they though there was even a problem with the current parking for students on campus. I

3. Devon Ehlert
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also asked how exactly the students got to class on a daily basis. I included these questions
because if cougs don’t think that there is a problem with the parking accessibility for students
then there really is no reason to continue with the recommendation as there would be no problem
to mend. As the researcher I need to know how people mainly get to class and if they drive, do
they buy a parking pass or not. This will help narrow down how many students are willing to pay
for parking and if a large amount pays the current prices offered.
Another question asked was if the prospect lived on or off campus and if there was more
obtainable parking for students if they would use it or not and at what cost. This helps a lot with
this research topic as now I can evaluate if most students that would want to use the extra spots
are living on or off campus, if they would take advantage of the extra parking resources, and if so
how much they are willing to pay to park on campus for their classes. Also asked was for the
hours most students attended class usually during the week to know what hours Transportation
Services would need to make the parking permits available for. All of these questions have a
specific purpose even if some of them don’t seem related. For this research topic I needed to
know what the students want, that is my main proposal and the reason and drive behind this
recommendation. I was able to assess that if Washington State University was able to make
parking student-friendly that the students would even be interested in using the parking lots and
buying the permits that allow them to park on campus.
Task 2: Researchplans for WSU parking in the future
When researching parking here at WSU I found, through their Facilities Services, a “master
plan” as the university calls it, of how they plan on changing the Pullman campus exponentially.
Part of the change is taking out most of Stadium Way, one of the most highly trafficked streets
closest to campus and this plan includes changing the parking on campus as well. A quote from
Pullman Campus Master Plan Update by Hanbury Evans Wright Vlattas & co. reads “Provisions
for parking remain a critical issue in the plan, as the reality is that driving will continue to be a
primary mode of travel for people coming to and from campus.” This shows that there is not
much that can be done to stop people from wanting to drive as their main mode of transportation
so instead of getting rid of it, they should embrace it and allow students, the driving force behind
the university to park on campus. Another quote from the Master Plan says “The illustrative plan
anticipates that up to 4,300 spaces could be lost to accommodate new building construction,
while anticipated campus growth suggests additional demand of roughly 9,600 spaces in 2020…
While there is potential for future parking deficits exists, there currently is an excess of parking
spaces.” This really just highlights my point of how right now there is an excess of parking
spaces that can and should be being used. The school should spend less time and resources on
creating a whole new “master plan” of a campus and start by first making sure that the resources
we have available to us now are being taken advantage of.
The reason for researching what Washington State University has planned for their parking on
campus in the future is to see how much money they are putting into their plan that ends up
eliminating thousands of parking spots on campus and making designated shuttle spots on the
outskirts of campus for staff and students. The university is paying thousands and thousands of
dollars for this renovation that is all in all taking away from the students and giving them even
less options for transportation. As I mentioned previously as it was stated in their “master plan”,

4. Devon Ehlert
Eng 402.18
March 1, 2016
the needs for parking is and will be increasing every year as that’s most people’s main mode of
transportation but rather than trying to make up for these resources needed WSU plans on
removing them instead. I feel that the effort and funds being put into this project could be
focused better on making sure that the students and staff have ample parking before they start
bussing everyone into campus. With the money they are spending on this huge project a parking
garage could be put in that would have enough spaces to fill the needs of students and staff
choosing to drive to campus.
Results
According to my survey, majority of students said that they thought there was a problem with the
parking availability on campus and that if there were accessible parking lots to them at $100 or
less they would use it, although 34% said they would be willing to pay more than that annually
to park on campus. When asked how they primarily got to class every day 90% of students said
they walk, the next closest (7.5%) being that they drive to class, which struck me as odd because
when I asked if they lived on or off campus the results were 50/50, and then lastly 2.5 % said
they ride the public transit. What this says to me is that there are students who are walking to
campus who live off campus who might find it more convenient to drive but that are probably
unable due to the lack of affordable parking on campus.
75% of prospects say that they don’t have a parking pass, 20% have a pass that costs over $100,
and 5% claimed they have a parking pass less than $100. This means that the students that drive
to class and don’t have a parking pass have to pay for the $2.00 an hour parking at the garages or
hope to get lucky and find a spot on the street. Students seemed to mainly have classes from the
hours of 12 pm to 5 pm so I would probably propose that the lots allotted for students be
available from 7 am to 5 pm rather than 4 pm.
Conclusions
Looking at the data gathered from this survey one can now see that there is a problem with the
parking on campus, and that there are students wanting to use these resources that Washington
State has yet to fulfill. 90% of students walk to class as their main mode of transportation
whether they live on or off campus and the students that live further away from campus should
have the convenience of being able to drive to campus if they so choose.
I do understand that the Transportation Services here at WSU needs to be funded in some way
and that they will be expecting a lot of budget cuts with this recommendation but these lots could
be sold for people that are interested in late night parking or weekend parking. There are visitors
that come strictly for football games during the fall weekends that would be willing to buy
weekend parking passes, along with the many students who are willing to pay to park on the
same lots just at different hours. Also, you can’t forget about the other numerous colored lots
around campus that I didn’t recommend the department change at all and also the parking tickets
that will still be accumulating throughout the year. The costs of permits and parking tickets go to
fund the Transportation Services department and they will still be receiving these funds from the
same places, just less income from the permits side of it. My recommendation will cut their
budget some but they will still be giving parking tickets (maybe even more if more cars were
allowed to park on campus) and then receiving money for the permits staff, students, and visitors

5. Devon Ehlert
Eng 402.18
March 1, 2016
purchase yearly. My forecast is that it may take a little getting used to for their department but
that all in all it would be a successful change that could benefit a lot more people than it would
harm.
I also recommend that the student parking permits are easy to purchase along with being cheaper.
Much like the athletic package that one can buy simply by adding it to your tuition by clicking
one extra button when signing up for classes, that is how trouble-free a student should be able to
purchase a parking pass. It will exclude students that live in residential halls and in Greek
chapters due to their proximity to campus and for all other students it should be easy to
understand. There will be accessible information on the new parking process and to buy the
permit should just be a click and done; it adds it into your tuition.
All in all what I am asking for is that the Transportation Services department and Washington
State University as a whole thinks of their students best interests and to look at the excess
parking on campus that is probably empty due to the extreme prices that the department charges
individuals to use it.
Recommendation
I recommend that the university take their excess parking spaces they plan on wiping out that no
one uses because they charge an arm and a leg for and making them working, useful parking lots
for the biggest population on this campus, the students. Washington State University has
something very rare that not a lot of other large universities have and that is a core community
that has a crazy, unexplainable bond between the faculty, students, fans, and alumni. This basis
of community and looking out for your fellow cougs has gained the reputation of the saying
“cougs helping cougs” and this is precisely what I am recommending. Cougs should help cougs
in this situation, instead of gutting out the parking as even in the master plan they predicted the
parking needs will double by 2020. I would hope that the facility which is powered and backed
by the students that attend it would be looking for ways to make the students life more enjoyable
at the school and not the other way around.
Washington State University has planned a project that spends thousands and thousands of
dollars taking out portions of Stadium Way, the only high trafficked road that goes all the way
from one end of campus to the other. This plan also entails getting rid of thousands of parking
spots and making it so that no one can really drive onto campus, they will have designated park
and rides on the outskirts of campus so that people can be shuttled in. I propose that instead of
using all this money to wipe out the resources we do have that are already lacking, that the
university uses this money to put into adding more parking resources to campus as the need for
parking grows with every year that passes.
With that being said I don’t think that it is too perplexing to offer up the red, yellow, green, and
the two parking garages (library and Smith) for students to be able to buy permits in order to
park in those lots Monday through Friday from the hours of 7 am to 5 pm. We now know that
students are willing and wanting to pay for a permit that will allow them to park on campus
during these times and that as of right now Washington State University has an excess of parking
on campus. It seems like a no brainer that benefits a lot more people than it hurts in the end.

6. Devon Ehlert
Eng 402.18
March 1, 2016
References
Vlattas, Hanbury Evans Wright. 2012. Vol. 2. Auckland, N.Z.: Auckland Transport,
2012. Facilities Services. Washington State University, May 2012. Web. 2 Mar. 2016.