4A – Forming An Opportunity Belief

Beginning point/my belief:

I believe there is an unmet need for more parking in the Gainesville area. Specifically surrounding the University of Florida. With being an off-campus student here at UF, and having a car, I have always found it a huge struggle to find street parking.  There are very limited meters around the area and makes it hard to find parking if one is visiting friends at their apartments, trying to grab a bite to eat at mid or grabbing coffee from Pascals or Concord.  With the continuous growth of multiple new apartments being built in this area, the need for more street parking is going to rise.  As far as I am aware, this is not a need that is trying to be solved. 

I truly believe if instead of putting in another apartment complex, taking that space to create a community parking lot using the Passport parking app would greatly benefit the area. I think there is a 60% chance of this opportunity being able to occur if using space where apartments were going to be built would be used for a lot instead.  

Customer #1:  A junior off campus student at the University of Florida.  She drives to the midtown area frequently to visit friends around the area.

When parking around the mid-town (north of campus) area, do you find parking to be difficult?

-       Yes, she finds it very difficult to find parking in this area, especially around 5pm.

Do you think that the multiple large apartments going up around the area will affect the parking?

-       Yes, I really do because the more people in the area will also create more traffic on the small streets.

When did you become aware of this need for more street parking?

-       She became more aware of this need when she moved off campus.

Would you use a public parking lot (run by Passport Parking) if one was made available?

-       Yes, she said she would.  The one by the Pascal’s parking lot is much more expensive than using the Passport parking app.

Reflect:

I learned that especially during the late afternoon, parking become more difficult and that a lot of students realize this issue once they live off campus.  I thought it was interesting how specific she was in her answer about how the lot next to Pascals is more expensive than paying through Passport parking meters.

Customer #2:  A sophomore who moved off campus into an apartment in this area.  

When parking around the mid-town (north of campus) area, do you find parking to be difficult?

-       I find this to be extremely difficult.  I have a city parking permit because my apartment complex only has one parking space per unit so my roommates and I share the space and trade off weeks who can park there.  Once it turns 4pm, it is harder to find street parking because all the parking in the area becomes lifted.

Do you think that the multiple large apartments going up around the area will affect the parking?

-       Yes, another large apartment is going up directly across from where I live know.  I don’t know what the specific parking rules for that complex will be, but regardless, visitors will be wanting to use the street parking once it is lifted making less space.

When did you become aware of this need for more street parking?

-       I became aware of this need once I moved into my current apartment.

Would you use a public parking lot (run by Passport Parking) if one was made available?

-       Depending on the location, yes, I would.  Knowing that there would be multiple spaces available would be a nice option for guest that visit me.  

Reflect:

I learned that a lot of people who currently live in apartments and use the Gainesville city parking struggle after parking is lifted because of the limited spaces and other people parking in these spaces.  I was surprised that even though she has street parking, she would still use a Passport lot. 

Customer #3:  A junior coffee barista at Pascals coffee shop in the mid-town area.

When parking around the mid-town (north of campus) area, do you find parking to be difficult?

-       Yes, there is no parking available for the number of people that live in the area. I have worked in this area for the past year and half and it has been an ongoing issue that I have noticed with the new large apartments going up in the area.

Do you think that the multiple large apartments going up around the area will affect the parking?

-       Yes, significantly.  This is just going to cause more problems.  

When did you become aware of this need for more street parking?

-       Since fall of 2018 when I began working at the local coffee shop Pascals.

Would you use a public parking lot (run by Passport Parking) if one was made available?

-       The Passport lot would be helpful because it would create hopefully a place where people wouldn’t use Gainesville street parking after 4pm.

Reflect:

I learned that people who work in this area have even noticed this issue.  What surprised me was how he said using Passport would hopefully encourage people not to park in the Gainesville street parking areas.

Summarize:

I think that from discussing this opportunity with all three people, there are enough people that would push for more parking. Even those who don’t live in the area. I definitely think that the opportunity is more accurate than when I started to think about it.  Adapting to opportunities based on customers feedback I think is very important.  Especially if there is a significant number of people who have the same opinion on a subject.