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Andrea Weathers works in Maternal and Child Health. Her office is in Rosenau
Hall. In 1983, she received her undergraduate degree from Carolina. When she
began working here in December, she received a CD parking permit and drove all
the way from Cary to park in Craige Deck.
On Feb. 5, Weathers contacted the Department of Public Safety for information
about the park-and-ride lot off N.C. 54. On Feb. 11, she e-mailed to say that
she would be turning in her CD parking permit, saying that park and ride was
definitely working out for her.
From Cary, Weathers has a 25-minute drive to the N.C. 54 park-and-ride lot.
What attracted her to the lot was the frequency of the buses. Between the HU
and the S routes, Chapel Hill Transit currently serves the lot with five-minute
headways during the morning and evening peak periods, and seven-minute headways
during the middle of the day. When she parks her car in the morning, she knows
it will only be a matter of minutes before a bus arrives to take her on to
campus.
For Weathers, one of the biggest bonuses of taking the bus is that she has 10
minutes each morning and evening to read. "I read an article each day, each
way, that makes 10 articles a week that I am able to read." In addition to the
luxury of being able to read for part of her commute, she also appreciates the
diminished amount of driving, saving wear and tear on her car.
Across campus, about one week earlier, Barrett Brooks, roofer and 18-month
employee of Carolina, walked into Facilities Services and turned in his parking
permit. He plans to take advantage of fare-free transit and his bicycle for his
daily commute to work.
Brooks lists many reasons for his switch from driving his car to work to using
other means. At the top of his list are economic reasons. He lives in Carrboro
and has found little affordable housing in the Chapel Hill/ Carrboro area. He
says that it is a financial hardship to try to live in the area and also pay to
park his car for work, especially when there are free alternatives, such as
transit and bicycling.
"The cost of parking is going to continue to increase, that's no secret,"
Brooks explained. "Everything is moving away from being able to drive your own
car to work, so I might as well start now." If he could make one improvement to
area transit it would be to make sure that one of the Carrboro buses could get
him to his job site at Facilities by 7 a.m., when his workday starts.
Brooks said that when the weather improves he will start cycling to work, which
will have the added health benefit of helping him stay in shape. The
environment also is a concern for him. He's pleased that by taking transit or
cycling to work, he will not be contributing to air pollution or to the traffic
congestion that plagues the area.
If you, or someone you know, has a good story to share about leaving the car at
home, e-mail Debby_Freed@unc.edu or call 942-6321.
Sponsored by Department of Public Safety
Writer: Debby Freed, Transportation Demand Management coordinator
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