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There is now a CONTENT FREEZE for Mercury while we switch to a new platform. It began on Friday, March 10 at 6pm and will end on Wednesday, March 15 at noon. No new content can be created during this time, but all material in the system as of the beginning of the freeze will be migrated to the new platform, including users and groups. Functionally the new site is identical to the old one. webteam@gatech.edu
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Atlanta, GA | Posted: August 15, 2016
Kristen Bailey
Institute Communications
Summary Sentence:
At the Staff Council’s third Inform Georgia Tech event, leaders from the Center for Community Health and Well-Being and Parking and Transportation Services gave an overview of their department’s offerings, plans, and challenges.
Full Summary:
At the Staff Council’s third Inform Georgia Tech event, leaders from the Center for Community Health and Well-Being and Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) gave an overview of their department’s offerings, plans, and challenges.
Trolley
Campus Recreation Center Gym FloorAt the Staff Council’s third Inform Georgia Tech event, leaders from the Center for Community Health and Well-Being and Parking and Transportation Services (PTS) gave an overview of their department’s offerings, plans, and challenges.
Suzy Harrington, director of the Center for Community Health and Well-Being, explained the holistic approach the Center takes when it comes to wellness.
“Health and well-being is about who we are, not what we do,” she said. She mentioned the breadth of health and wellness-related programs and initiatives on campus, but that they are not always connected. Some aspects, such as Stamps Health Services, have varied accessibility for students versus employees. Stamps recently began accepting insurance for employee prescriptions, and Harrington hopes to continue to expand the Center’s employee-focused efforts.
One upcoming initiative that will be available to all is a LiveHealth kiosk in the Student Center. Students, faculty, and staff will be able to teleconference with a doctor and receive prescriptions, which can be filled a few steps away at Stamps.
Harrington was followed by Lance Lunsway, senior director for Parking and Transportation Services and New Business Development. Lunsway outlined how parking costs are structured, why they continue to rise, and other campus transportation options.
Georgia Tech’s parking is completely funded by users. As the campus continues to become more friendly to multi-modal transportation and build more parking decks — a nationwide trend, Lunsway said — costs continue to rise, as decks are more expensive to construct and maintain than surface lots.
PTS does subsidize user parking rates through special event parking, visitor parking, Official Business Permit sales, and other methods, all of which add up to bringing down the cost around $550 per year, per user.
PTS is also looking at ways to conserve energy and cut costs where possible. Recent LED light installations in the Tech Square deck brought a 70 percent energy savings, and the installation will pay for itself in around four to five years.
Still, Lunsway acknowledged that not everyone can afford or wants to pay to drive and park on campus. He encouraged users to consult the commute calculator at gacommuteoptions.com to determine the best commute method for them.
This fall, Tech will partner with the City of Atlanta’s new Relay Bike Share program to bring five stations and around 50 bikes to campus in the coming weeks.
Finally, Lunsway presented what he said could be the future for campus transport — a driverless car named Olli whose parts are made on a 3-D printer. For now, though, trolleys and buses will continue to service Tech’s campus.
For full presentations from both Harrington and Lunsway, visit staffcouncil.gatech.edu.
