Almost nine months into installation, all Medical Center parking lots have been converted to a new gate-access system.

"We want to thank faculty and staff for their patience," said Patricia Hudson, parking operations manager at URMC. "Though the system has brought benefits, the process has taken longer than we anticipated, and we apologize for the inconveniences that occurred along the way. We're still making adjustments, and we'll continue to monitor lot occupancy, gate functionality and the AVI system on whole."

While Parking leaders work on fine-tuning the system, they’re also taking action to crack down on unauthorized parking in the ramp garage, where space is especially tight. There, the 500 spaces allocated to employees (both garage permit holders, and staff who work late hours) are quickly being maxed out.

“Every day, we have close to 90 employees parking illegally in the garage,” Hudson said. “In addition to not having spots available to patients and staff who legitimately need to park there, these unauthorized parkers are causing back-ups in our exiting lanes, since their AVI tags are not programmed to let them out.”

In response, Parking Office leaders are taking action to more strictly enforce garage/visitor lot parking policies (e.g., Lot 3 Visitor Parking on Crittenden Boulevard). These parking guidelines state that any Medical Center permit holder may park in the garage if they enter between 2:15 p.m. and 6 a.m.; they must exit before 10 a.m. (however, parkers who have specifically purchased an After Hours permit still cannot enter the garage until after 5 p.m.). Any Medical Center permit holder also may park in the Lot 3 visitor lot beginning after 5 p.m.; they must exit before 6 a.m. the next morning.

“AVI tags are programmed only to allow staff to enter these lots automatically in these permissible time frames,” Hudson said.

Soon, the computerized gate system will begin monitoring if employees are parking in visitor lots at inappropriate times. Though the gates have been reconfigured to allow the employees to exit without complication (to not impede traffic flow), computer records will flag the violation, and $100 ticket will be mailed to the employee. Should there be additional abuse, tickets will continue to be issued and the individual’s supervisor will be informed.

Additionally, when employees come to the Medical Center as patients or visitors, they may park in the ramp garage, but must take an entry ticket and pay the standard fee when leaving. To avoid a violation fee, it is imperative that they also phone the Parking Office (275-4524) to report that their registered vehicle will be in the ramp garage during the visit.

(For more information on parking policies at the Medical Center, click here.)

Update on AVI Tag/Gate System

In spite of the lengthy transition, the new gating system has already offered several benefits, including ensuring that employees have ample space in their assigned lot (by making sure staff park only in their registered lot), and helping Parking officials better gauge lot fullness and open overflow lots sooner. Having this automatic tracking mechanism in place also furnished Parking’s planners with the data they need to forecast future parking needs at the Medical Center.

“We’ve also installed direct-call buttons at each gate, linking folks directly to our Office line, in case they’re driving an alternate vehicle, or are having trouble entering. We’ve also instructed our staff to lift gates when there seems to be an issue with flow,” Hudson said.

As Parking continues to work to improve the system, Hudson offers tips parkers can implement to help improve the system’s functionality:

• Double-check that the vehicle’s AVI tag is mounted horizontally in the center of the windshield (if you continue to experience problems with your tag granting access to your gated lot, please bring it to the Parking Office).
• Approach gates at a controlled speed; this can help the device detect your vehicle earlier, ideally allowing you to “roll though” as the gate raises.