Parking policies for avoiding car dependence (presented at Ecomobility 2 sept 2013)

Parking Policies for Avoiding Car Dependence

Paul Barter http://www.reinventingparking.org/

http://www.adb.org/publications/parking-policy-asian-cities Auckland, New Zealand

http://www.reinventingparking.org/



http://www.adb.org/publications/parking-policy-asian-cities







Summary

Failings of mainstream parking policy

The unglamorous secret to success

A “map” of reform options

A promising, responsive approach

Paul Barter, Reinventing Parking

Most parking policy is modelled on the USA’s conventional suburban approach:

Assumes parking should be on-site infrastructure (like the toilets with a building)

So every site needs “enough” parking for its own demand

Parking standards (minimums)

The median USA parking requirements for restaurants. Source Seth Goodman

http://graphingparking.wordpress.com/



http://graphingparking.wordpress.com/2013/02/06/parking-requirements-for-restaurants/


Conventional suburban:

Fears on-street parking chaos (‘spillover’)

Any successful alternative must transcend this fear!

Assumes on-street parking management is too hard

Assumes private sector will not supply enough unless forced to (a self-fulfilling prophecy)

Dhaka, Bangladesh



Wasteful parking investments

Much off-street parking is under-used

even when nearby on-street parking is full and chaotic

Parking chaos often remains

Shenzhen, China



Parking search traffic

Saturated on-street parking causes ‘cruising for parking’

Often 30% or more of traffic volume

Seoul, Korea



Conventional parking policy is a ‘fertility drug for cars’ and generator of traffic

Locks us into or pushes us towards automobile dependence

Unjust subsidies and cross-subsidies


Auckland, New Zealand

A new, heavily

subsidized parking

structure in Delhi,

India, which remains

under-used despite

continued on-street

parking chaos nearby


Harm to housing affordability

Obstacle to legalization of extra-legal settlements

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia


Near Mexico

City


Decline and blight of old urban districts

Parking regulations hinder re-use, redevelopment and infill

Promotes demolitions for parking

Near the center of Houston, USA (via Google Maps)



Conventional approach in South and Southeast Asia











Conventional approach in Latin America

Source: Guía Práctica Estacionamiento y Políticas de Reducción de Congestión en

América Latina (Practical guide to parking and policies to reduce congestion in Latin

America) p.84


Square metres of commercial space per required parking space

Cities in Brazil, Mexico and Chile have high parking requirements

Unglamorous secret to success: on-street management basics

Clear rules

Build enforcement capacity

Trustworthy time-based fees

Parking data collection capacities

Strengthen parking institutions

Good on-street management opens up other options and frees us from the trap of the conventional approach

Dhaka


Photo by Flickr user gregwake

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gregwake/

Many cities lack trusted pricing and lack mechanism for time-based fees

But crucial for fairness (pay for what you use)

and as key tool of parking management

Makati, Metro Manila,

The Philippines



Parking inventories

Simple occupancy surveys

At least for problem districts




Enforcement needs to be ‘good enough’:

– Prioritize efforts

– Clear rules and signs

– Better as an administrative, not a law court matter

– Best NOT by the police!

– Better at local level

– Keep revenue very local

– Better outsourced to private contractors

Good models include: UK, Netherlands, Spain, Japan (since 2006)



Strong on-street parking management:

frees us from the trap of the conventional suburban approach

expands our parking policy options

But what are the options?




Every site should have its own

parking

Parking facilities serve whole

neighbourhoods

Parking is “infrastructure”

1. conventional 2. parking management

Parking is a “real-estate based service”

3. Responsive

With sub-types distinguished by parking policy goals (especially regarding parking supply)


1. Moderate the conventional suburban approach

Same assumptions but a moderated goal: Avoid excessive wasteful parking supply, not just shortage

For example, King County, Washington, USA: “Right-sizing” of parking requirements to better match local conditions and actual demand


http://www.rightsizeparking.org/


2. “Parking management”

Parking is still ‘infrastructure’ but now for whole area

Active management (prices,

eligibility, time-limits, sharing, supply, etc.)

Various goals

Management often favours residents and retailers

Many cities limit parking supply in city centres




3. Responsive

Parking is a real-estate based service (like meeting rooms) serving each area

Make on-street prices responsive (occupancy target)

Make off-street supply choices responsive to context

Involve very local stakeholders

Source: Shoup, D. The High Cost of Free Parking


Responsive: Donald Shoup’s proposals

i. Price on-street parking for 85% occupancy

ii. Use revenue as desired by local stakeholders

iii. Abolish minimum parking requirements



Responsive (de facto) in Japan

Almost no on-street parking

Parking minimums are low and exempt small buildings

Proof of parking law

In inner areas of Japanese cities, most parking is commercial and supply and prices depend primarily on market conditions in each area


Adaptive Parking A variation on, and extension of, Donald Shoup’s proposals

Nudge policies along these five reform directions to make your parking system more responsive to local context

Share! (make most parking

shared or open to the public)

Price! (price to prevent queues

and cruising for parking)

Sweeten! (make

stakeholders happy)

Relax! (about supply)

Choice! (improve options

and ensure competition in parking)

For more information see www.reinventingparking.org


A promising responsive approach

Adaptive Parking

Share! (make most parking shared or open to the public)

Foster ‘park-once districts’ Discourage

this

Australia



Various cities have incentives for parking with buildings to be open to the public

Shared parking, like shared seating

at food courts, is much more efficient



San Francisco has an ambitious version (SFPark) but many cities do this to some extent. This is Central Seattle for example.

Adaptive Parking

Price! (price with the aim of preventing queues and cruising for parking) For example, have an on-street OCCUPANCY TARGET

If >>85% full THEN ↑ price

If <<85% full THEN ↓ price

Otherwise no change

See http://www.seattle.gov/transportation/parking/paidparking.htm

Adaptive Parking Sweeten! (make stakeholders happy)

For example, spend local parking revenue very locally

Parking Benefit Districts are one possible mechanism

Singapore



Adaptive Parking Despite high car ownership, Japan has very low parking requirements and exempts small buildings


Many jurisdictions have abolished parking requirements, with little evidence of ill-effects:

For example, England, Berlin, central parts of San Francisco, New York, Boston, Portland and Seattle and city centres in Australia.

http://beta.adb.org/publications/parking-policy-asian-cities










Adaptive Parking

Parking options

Alternatives to driving a private car

Counter “my car is necessary” pleas

Choice! (improve options and ensure competition in parking)

Tokyo

Ahmedabad

Sydney

Vienna



Adaptive Parking The five reforms directions WORK TOGETHER to make parking systems more responsive

Share! (make most parking

shared or open to the public)

Price! (price to prevent queues

and cruising for parking)

Sweeten! (make

stakeholders happy)


Choice! (improve options

and ensure competition)

For more information see www.reinventingparking.org

A promising responsive approach Paul Barter, Reinventing Parking


1. Build/improve on-street management basics (necessary for all parking policy progress!)

2. Adaptive Parking: make parking prices, supply and

demand more responsive to local context and to each other

3. Then many places can also use parking policy for demand management (where relevant and politically possible,

primarily by constraining supply in transit-rich city centers and sub-centers)


For more on my parking views see www.reinventingparking.org


Parking policies for avoiding car dependence (presented at Ecomobility 2 sept 2013)

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