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Parking Management for Smart Growth

Book Overview

Richard Willson Ph.D., FAICPDepartment of Urban and Regional Planning, Cal Poly Pomona

Island Press 2015

Compare the value of a space that…

Provides 24/7 storage for the seldom-used, “extra car that we really should sell but haven’t had time”

Is never used. Ever.

Serves 15 short-visit retail and service customers per day, multiple restaurant patrons, and overnight parking for a household.

Same square footage, radically

different value

Increase intensity of space use…

Effects and benefits

Manage reductions of parking supply, aka “peak parking”

Use existing parking more fully

Reduce negative externalities of parking, such as cruising

Empty space = useless space

LivabilityMultimodal transportation Economic vitalitySustainabilitySocial equity

A cultural shift…one community at at time

Small town…• Park on-street in front of

destination

• Park free

• City makes developers provide

• Off-street parking is private– hands off!

• Neighborhood parking is exclusive to residents

Big city…• Park nearby and walk,

probably off-street

• Parking costs $

• City facilitates private/public provision

• Off-street parking is shared

• Neighborhood parking is shared

Parking management techniques are growing in number and sophistication…

• Technology• Privatization• Consumer preferences• Tight parking supplies

But many applications are ad hoc…• Private and public parking

operators don’t coordinate• On- and off-street parking

facilities aren’t coordinated• Outmoded ways of thinking

about parking• “Set it and forget it” instead

of actively managing a parking resource

…and some are ridiculous…

The logic of parking managementEffects?• Increase % of time occupied• Improve space search• Choices in price and

convenience• Repurpose parking to better

uses

How does it work?• Reduce total parking

demand• More efficiently use existing

parking

The answer:

Get the prices right

But pricing alone isn’t enough• People work across organizations and sectors

(agreements, coordination, implementation)• Transitional strategies until market based pricing is

possible• Collective action when markets don’t function properly

Conclusion – coordinated, comprehensive planning and implementation is needed

Comprehensive and coordinated+ Public and private+ On- and off-street+ Centralized

management+ Direct the right

parkers to the right spaces

= Comprehensive and coordinated parking management

Sharing

• Single use parking is a waste

• Share between uses with different occupancy periods

• Design sites to facilitate sharing

• Find shared parking agreements that work

Winning places charge for parking…

• Parking is easy, efficient, but not free

• Charges make the most popular space more productive

• People come for the activities, not free parking

Don’t let perfect be the enemy of the good

Start where you can:• Adjust on-street time limits • Lease unused spaces for

public parking• Introduce parking meters• Broker shared parking• Promote walking, biking,

and transit• Reform zoning as needed

Process for strategic parking management

Strategy choices – consider all quadrants

Direct Strategies Indirect Strategies

Monetary

($’s effectuate

the result)

1. “The Engineer”- provide, purchase, program

Advanced parking equipment Alternative transportation - bicycle,

pedestrian, bus, rail, shuttle services and complete streets

Lease parking private parking for public use

2. “The Economist” - tax, price, subsidize

Parking pricing Road pricing Parking taxes Remove parking subsidy, unbundle, or

cash-out TDM subsidy

Non-Monetary

(rules,

convincing,

agreements)

3. “The Regulator”- require, prohibit, allow

Space designations, use rules, and time limits

Residential permit districts Reduce parking dimensions Shared or off-site parking agreements Temporary use agreements Fee in-lieu programs Road use restrictions

4. “The Educator/Marketer”- inform, implore, facilitate TDM marketing Real time information on

transportation options Parking information systems, static

signage, wayfinding “Park Once” marketing programs Brokered shared parking agreements

A managed, integrated, financially sustainable parking district

• Establish management principles• Create organizational structure

• Define roles of on- and off-street parking• Establish rate setting protocols

• Measure performance• Communicate integrated parking system

• Evaluate new technologies• Conduct financial analysis an ongoing

management

Rick Williams, of Rick Williams Consulting in Portland Oregon, contributed this chapter in the book.

Examples of best practice…• SFpark and LA Express Park –

dynamic pricing• Lloyd District, Portland OR –

parking + access + green• Redwood City - variable

pricing in a smaller community• Tacoma WA – building an

integrated management • Old Pasadena – revenue

return to district• Boulder CO – use of

neighborhood parking by others with revenue return

Implementation details discussed in the book

• Setting prices• Implementing shared parking

agreements• Accessible parking and disabled

placard abuse• Meter equipment pitfalls• Lack of coordination• Parking enforcement• Green parking operations

How to get people to the table…

Approach Strategy

Community plans Supports urban design, economic development, transportation, or environmental goals

EducationCosts of status quo – excess parking, conflict

Fairness to non-driversPractice in successful places

Self interestCity managers: lost tax revenuesBusiness districts: revenue returnNeighborhoods: revenue return

Developers/property owners: more opportunity

AlliesTransit operators, cyclists

Infill developers, affordable housing developersSmall business

Historic preservation

The future will be less vehicles per household, and fewer parking spaces• Use versus ownership, services versus facilities• Lower household vehicle ownership

• Shared ride; peer-to-peer sharing; autonomous vehicles• Improved transit, walking bicycling• More mixed use, density• Millennial and boomer preference

• Telecommunication substitution for travel• Urban clustering in suburbs• Less area per parked car - self parking vehicles

Resources…Parking Management for Smart Growth• How to implement comprehensive and coordinated

parking managementParking Reform Made Easy• How to revise (or eliminate) minimum parking

requirements