How are parking fees determined?

Every year Parking Services researches and reviews several factors that contribute to determining our parking fees. This research is then presented to the Executive Leadership Team with a recommendation for their approval. The factors researched include:

1. Costs for regular parking operations including:
– Snow plowing
– Pavement repairs
– Purchasing supplies
– Line painting and road markings
– Routine equipment maintenance
– Related safety and security costs

2. Costs for planned capital investments including:
– Large scale paving
– Equipment replacement
– Lighting improvements and upgrades
– Safety features (emergency phones & cameras)

3. Parking fees at other Colleges:

a. There is no direct “apples to apples” comparison possible because not all Colleges
have the same levels of parking or the same geographic layout as Fleming.

b. Fees at all Colleges are researched and three averages are done:
i. College System
ii. College System minus the GTA Colleges
iii. Colleges with more than 5,000 but less than 10,000 students.

c. In each case the 2014, 2015 & 2016 parking fees at Fleming were at, or below the averages listed above.

4. Parking fees at other local agencies such as:

a. Trent University (fees are comparable) – In addition to paying for parking all students at Trent also pay a mandatory fee for a bus pass whether they use it or not. Students at Fleming will also be paying a Transportation fee for a bus pass starting in Fall 2015.

b. City of Peterborough & Health Care Facilities (our fees are lower)

Are any tuition fees spent on parking operations?

Money from tuition fees and government grants cannot be spent on parking operations or capital investments. Parking operates solely on the revenue generated from parking permit sales, pay & display machines and parking violation notices.

What type of operational costs are paid for with parking fees?

Parking incurs routine operational costs that are the same as other College departments. Expenses such as staff salaries, supplies, maintenance of the lots, signs and equipment.

What other costs are associated with parking?

In addition to routine operational costs there are investments planned over the next 15 years that will require significant funding. Projects being considered include; upgrading to energy efficient lighting in the lots, replacing aging parking gates, improved signage and paving the lots on a regular cycle. As an example, re-paving one parking spot costs approximately $1,300 which means to resurface a 500 space lot would cost $650,000.

Why was there such a large increase in the annual permit in 2014?

For many years at Fleming parking fees were kept at a low level and fees were only used to cover minimum operating cost such as patching potholes and snowplowing. There was little money remaining to make investments in infrastructure or upgrades. The parking facilities and equipment at all campuses are antiquated and will require significant capital investments over the next 10-15 years to upgrade them. Planned investments include newer gates, adding pay & display machines, improved lighting, adding safety phones and security cameras to all lots.

The parking gates at the Sutherland Campus are over 10 years old and require constant, costly repairs. Research is currently underway to find newer and better ways to improve traffic flow, control parking and provide faster more efficient service. The estimated cost of these investments over the next 15 years exceeds 5 million dollars. In order to generate the revenue required to make these investments an increase in parking fees was necessary.

The current parking technology systems at Fleming are paper-based and also antiquated. Students and employees are required to fill in paper forms, hand them in to a cashier where several separate systems are used to document the purchase and issue an access card or hanging tag. Nothing can be done online or through a smart phone. An updated system will add convenience and a service level benefit to all users. In past years a person could purchase a Monthly, One Semester or Annual (12 Month) Permit. The majority of our students and many part-time and partial-load employees are at the College from September to April however there was no Two Semester Permit available. The result was that they either purchased an Annual Permit that they did not use in the summer or purchased two, One Semester Permits, that cost more.

Starting in the fall of 2014 a Two Semester Permit was created. In order to create this permit it was necessary to increase the price of the Annual Permit. The Two Semester Permit is priced, now in the middle, at the same rate as last year’s Annual Permit.

Therefore, the majority of students and most part-time and partial load employees that are at the College from September to April will pay the same amount for parking as they did last year. There was no increase in the Monthly and One Semester Permit prices at all this year compared to last year.

Why did Fleming purchase parking management software?

Use of an online system will provide better customer service by reducing the need to fill out a form or see a parking staff member in person to change your personal or vehicle information. This will help reduce lines at the Information Booth and will also reduce paper waste by eliminating most of the forms that we have used in the past. Parking Management Software will also provide Parking Services with more accurate data about parking lot use, permit purchases and enforcement which will allow us to make better decisions in the future about the types of parking we offer.

Why did Fleming choose the ParkAdmin solution?

A competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) process was conducted through the Purchasing Department that was in compliance with the Broader Public Sector guidelines. Tomahawk Technologies (ParkAdmin) scored highest in that process for many reason including, all data is stored on servers in Canada, they had good references from other post-secondary clients and their bid was in line with our budget target.

What information will be stored in ParkAdmin?

Your basic personal information and vehicle information is required in your online profile so that Parking Services can contact you for matters related to your vehicle and parking on campus. If you receive a Parking Violation Notice or Appeal a Violation that information will also be linked to your profile and vehicle. No credit card information, No payroll information and No banking information is collected or stored in ParkAdmin. Once online payment is made available it will be via a secure Moneris Account connection.

Who has access to my information?

Parking Services staff and managers can access the information in ParkAdmin as part of their duties. Campus Security Staff can only see Violation Notices, Permit Numbers and Licence Plates for the purpose of enforcement, they cannot access personal information. Tomahawk Technologies staff have limited access to data to the extent necessary to deliver the contracted services. All Tomahawk Technologies employees sign confidentiality agreements and data may only be stored on their internal servers and not external drives.

Is my information secure?

ParkAdmin is an industry grade product and is compliant with various standards including Payment Card Industry (PCI), Freedom of Information & Protection of Privacy Act and ISO/IEC 27001:2013. The contract between Fleming and Tomahawk Technologies provides that the information collected through ParkAdmin is not owned by Tomahawk Technologies and cannot be sold or used for any other purpose. If Fleming ends the contract all data will be destroyed.