P&TS eUpdate

Parking & Transportation Services
eUpdate
May 2008 edition

You are receiving this Parking & Transportation Services (P&TS) eUpdate as a member of the Stanford campus community. We believe the content of this message, and other periodic updates, will be of interest to you as a parking permit holder and/or user of alternative transportation. We also want to share information with you to help the campus meet certain transportation-related goals in the General Use Permit.¹

Visit our website at http://transportation.stanford.edu for more information.

1) Participate in Bike-to-Work Day on Thursday, May 15
Stop by campus Energizer Stations, join the Team Bike Challenge, and enter a bike raffle

2) Parking Structure 6 opening rescheduled to mid- to late-May
Nearby parking displacements postponed until Parking Structure 6 opens

3) Last chance to participate in the $50 Permit-Return Promotion
Friday, May 30, is the deadline

4) "MY 511" is now available
Receive customized traffic updates for your key destinations

5) A $20 gift card could be yours
Answer May's Factoid Quiz to enter this month's drawing

1) Participate in Bike-to-Work Day on Thursday, May 15
Stop by campus Energizer Stations, join the Team Bike Challenge, and enter a bike raffle

Is the rising price of gas getting you down? Would you like to burn calories instead of fossil fuel? Dust off your bike, leave your car at home, and join thousands of Bay Area commuters on Bike-to-Work Day, Thursday, May 15.

* Parking & Transportation Services will have five Energizer Stations offering treats to bicyclists at the following campus locations: 1) Campus Drive at Santa Teresa; 2) Serra and El Camino; 3) Galvez and El Camino; 4) Palm Drive and Arboretum; and 5) White Plaza. Be sure to cycle by between 6:30 a.m. and 9 a.m. to pick up your free goodies. For a full list of Energizer Stations in neighboring areas, visit the Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition's website at http://svbcbikes.org/btwd/energizerstation.

* The folding bike promotion is still available. Eligible Stanford affiliates can request a one-week free rental of a folding bike. If you decide to purchase one, P&TS offers $100 toward the purchase of selected models. A folding bike can be taken to your seat on Caltrain so you won't be bumped if the bike car is full. For more information, visit http://transportation.stanford.edu/alt_transportation/BikingAtStanford.shtml#bikepromo.

* Live in San Francisco? Join a Stanford group on their annual cycle from San Francisco to Stanford on Thursday, May 15. Last year nine people made the ride. This year they are shooting for 20! Contact bike-information@stanford.edu for more information or to join the team.

* May is National Bike Month, so you can participate in the following throughout the month of May.

-- Join the Team Bike Challenge by forming a team of two to five people, signing up, and logging the days you bicycle to work, school, or errands during the month of May to earn points toward prizes. You don't have to ride as a group. For more information, visit http://svbcbikes.org/btwd/teambikechallenge.

-- Enter a raffle for a new bike by pledging to bike to work, school, errands, transit, or for fun at least once in the month of May: http://www.bayareabikes.org/btwd/index.php?page=drawing.php.

2) Parking Structure 6 opening rescheduled to mid- to late-May
Nearby parking displacements postponed until Parking Structure 6 opens

The opening of the new Parking Structure 6 (PS-6) was rescheduled to mid- to late-May due to construction delays. The new structure will offer 1,180 new parking spaces for commuter, resident (“EA,” and “SO” permits) and visitor parking. It is located off Campus Drive East near the Munger housing project and the Law School. When PS-6 opens, there will be a temporary closure of Wilbur South Parking Lot (L-62) for a reconfiguration project. There also will be a permanent closure of the Wilbur-Stern Temporary Lot (located between Stern Hall and Wilbur Hall, adjacent to PS-6).

Alternatives to the Wilbur Lots include PS-6 for "A", "C", and "EA" permit holders, and Wilbur East Parking Lot (L-63), Bowdoin Street parking (between Campus Drive and Stanford Avenue), and Cowell at Bowdoin Parking Lot (L-65) for "C", "EA" and "ES" permit holders. For updates, visit the following website: http://transportation.stanford.edu/parking_info/construction.shtml.

For more information, please contact Parking Operations at parkingoperations@stanford.edu or 650.723.9362.

3) Last chance to participate in the $50 Permit-Return Promotion
Friday, May 30, is the deadline

Do you currently have a parking permit, and want to return it to join the Commute Club? Now through Friday, May 30, 2008, return your long-term annual "A" or "C" parking permit (must expire on August 31, 2008 or 2009), join the Commute Club, and we'll give you a refund for every full month remaining on your permit plus a $50 bonus if you stay in the program through August 29, 2008. Restrictions apply, so visit our website for details: http://transportation.stanford.edu/promo08. Return your permit to Parking & Transportation Services at 340 Bonair Siding, between 7:30 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday. We are open during lunch. Questions? Call us at 650.723.9362.

4) "MY 511" is now available
Receive customized traffic updates for your key destinations

Wouldn't it be great to get an email or text message alerting you when there is a traffic jam on your route to work in the morning? Do you find yourself wondering which route would be the fastest as you head home? You're in luck: With the just-released MY 511, users get instant access to their personalized travel information throughout the San Francisco Bay Area.

MY 511 allows users to build their own home page as well as bypass the 511 phone menu for up-to-the-minute driving times 24 hours a day. For more information and to create your own “MY 511” for traffic updates, visit http://www.my511.org.

For transit riders, MY 511 Transit will be phased in at the end of this summer. According to a representative with 511, Muni will be available first, with VTA added in late 2009 or early 2010. An estimate for when Caltrain would be added was not available at the time of this eUpdate.

5) A $20 gift card could be yours
Answer May's Factoid Quiz to enter this month's drawing

Here is this month's Factoid Quiz question: When is Bike-to-Work Day this year? A) May 15, B) May 17, C) May 22, or D) June 5. If you don't know the answer, visit our website (or read this eUpdate) to find out: http://transportation.stanford.edu. Submit your answer through our website quiz page at http://transportation.stanford.edu, and you'll be entered in our $20 monthly gift card drawing.

Congratulations to our April winner: Ruth Mikusko, Stanford Lively Arts, who won a $20 StanfordCardPlan (accepted at many campus locations, including the Stanford Bookstore, Peet's, Jamba Juice, Stanford Dining locations, and more). She answered correctly that the service that allows you to find people who will carpool, vanpool, or bicycle with you is called the ridematching service.

Each month, our team at Parking & Transportation Services challenges you with a new quiz question about our office, programs, and services.* Send us your suggestions for our Factoid Quiz question, and if your question is selected, you will win a $20 gift card! Fill out the suggestion form on our website: http://transportation.stanford.edu/quiz/quizQuestion.html. If you have a question that needs an answer, ask us directly at commuteclub@stanford.edu.

* Members of the Stanford community may play once each month. If you select the correct answer, your name will be added to a drawing at the end of the month. You are eligible to win only one prize per academic year, but you are welcome to complete the quiz each month. On the last weekday of each month, respondents with the correct answer that month will be entered in a prize drawing; the winner, chosen at random, will receive a $20 gift card. If your quiz question is selected, you will receive a $20 gift card.

¹ It is important for Parking & Transportation Services to communicate parking and alternative-transportation information to the campus. Under the 2000 General Use Permit (campus growth plan approved by Santa Clara County), the campus has a goal of "no net new peak-hour commute trips" over the life of the permit and must accommodate campus growth with a limited number of new parking spaces. Failure to achieve this goal will result in the campus being faced with costly mitigation measures.