USE OF LINEAR PROGRAMMING TO EVALUATE ALTERNATIVE PARKING SITES

THE AUTHOR HAS RELATED A DETAILED STUDY OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PARKING PLAN AT CARNEGIE-MELLON UNIVERSITY. BECAUSE IT WAS POSSIBLE TO ESTABLISH COMPETITIVE PLANS AND VALUES BETWEEN DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATING COSTS AND USER COSTS, A SIMPLEX NETWORK OBTAINED FROM LINEAR PROGRAMMING WAS USED TO DETERMINE THAT COMBINATION OF FACILITIES TO SERVE 1980 PARKING NEEDS WITH MAXIMUM UTILITY AND MINIMUM COST. APPLICATION OF THE PROGRAM ASSISTED IN DETERMINING THE RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF EACH SITE WITH REGARD TO ITS PROXIMITY TO THE MANY CAMPUS GENERATORS OF PARKING DEMANDS. THE TIME-DISTANCE RELATIONS OF SITES AND PARKERS WERE MEASURED ON THE ASSUMPTION THAT EACH COMPETITIVE SITE WAS DEVELOPED WITH A GIVEN NUMBER OF SPACES IN TERMS OF COST OF TRIP.