[sustran] Re: On vs off street parking or simply reducing on street parking.

Todd Alexander Litman litman at vtpi.org
Thu Apr 27 12:33:47 JST 2006


There is no doubt that shifting from free to priced parking can 
reduce vehicle ownership and use. Underpriced parking is the largest 
subsidy of automobile travel - for each dollar a motorist spends 
directly on their vehicle, somebody spends about $0.50 to subsidize 
its parking. In typical situations, shifting from free to 
cost-recovery priced parking (parking priced to cover its facility 
and operating costs) reduces automobile ownership by 5-15% if applied 
to residential parking, and reduces vehicle trips by 10-30% if 
applied at destinations such as worksite and other commercial 
destinations. This implies that about 20% of our traffic problems, 
road and parking costs, traffic accidents, fuel consumption and 
pollution emissions can be "explained" by vehicle parking 
underpricing, or described more positively, correcting parking 
underpricing can significantly improve transportation system 
efficiency and address problems such as excessive traffic risk and 
energy consumption.

Pricing can even be revenue neutral, for example, by "unbundling" 
residential parking (parking is sold and rented separately from 
building space, so for example, rather than renting an apartment for 
$1,000 per month with two "free" parking spaces, the apartment rents 
for $800 per month, and each parking space is a separate $100 per 
month) and "cashing out" subsidized employee parking (commuters can 
choose between a subsidized parking space or its cash equivalent, 
such as $100 per month).

To be effective parking pricing must be correctly implemented. This 
means appropriate price structures (preferably hourly and daily fees, 
with higher rates during peak periods, and minimal exemptions and 
discounts), effective enforcement, and good travel options (walking 
and cycling conditions, good ridesharing and public transit services, 
etc.). To effect vehicle ownership and use (rather than just parking 
location) pricing must be implemented over an area, so motorists 
cannot simply park for free nearby.

Business people often demand parking subsidies to attract customers, 
but their efforts are often misdirected. After all, people spend 
money, not cars. While its true that if two businesses are otherwise 
equally attractive, the one that offers free parking will tend to 
attract more customers, there are other more important attributes, 
and areas which focus only on cheap parking to attract customers 
often fail. For example, if charging for parking reduces taxes and 
prices, increases parking turnover, or funds transit services and 
local street improvements, many people while choose an area where 
they must pay for parking (see Douglas Kolozsvari and Donald Shoup, 
"Turning Small Change Into Big Changes," Access 23, University of 
California Transportation Center 
(<http://www.uctc.net/>www.uctc.net), Fall 2003, pp. 2-7; 
<http://www.sppsr.ucla.edu/up/webfiles/SmallChange.pdf>www.sppsr.ucla.edu/up/webfiles/SmallChange.pdf 
).  Similarly, many areas with limited and priced parking are 
attractive places to live and work, because they have better 
livability. Described differently, charging for parking improves the 
quality of customers by weeding out the cheepskates who won't pay a 
few cents to park, leaving better spenders.

This is not anti-car. It recognizes that some trips will be made by 
automobile and that we need to accommodate their need to park. But 
charging for parking and using shared, public parking facilities 
(including on-street and for-profit commercial parking) is far more 
equitable and efficient, and significantly reduces the total amount 
of parking supply needed compared with conventional parking planning 
practices which result in generous amounts of parking at each destination.

For more information see:

Todd Litman, Parking Management: Strategies, Evaluation and Planning, 
Victoria Transport Policy Institute 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf>www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf), 2006.

MRSC, Downtown Parking Solutions, Municipal Research and Service 
Center of Washington 
(<http://www.mrsc.org/Subjects/Transpo/Tpark/transsolut.aspx>www.mrsc.org/Subjects/Transpo/Tpark/transsolut.aspx), 
2005.

Nelson/Nygaard Consulting, Housing Shortage / Parking Surplus, 
Transportation and Land Use Coalition 
(<http://www.transcoalition.org/southbay/housing_study/index.html>www.transcoalition.org/southbay/housing_study/index.html), 
July 2002.

Oregon Downtown Development Association, Parking Management Made 
Easy: A Guide to Taming the Downtown Parking Beast, Transportation 
and Growth Management Program, Oregon DOT and Dept. of Environmental 
Quality 
(<http://www.lcd.state.or.us/tgm/publications.htm>www.lcd.state.or.us/tgm/publications.htm), 
2001.

Ryan Russo, Planning for Residential Parking: A Guide For Housing 
Developers and Planners, Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern 
California 
(<http://www.nonprofithousing.org/>www.nonprofithousing.org) and the 
Berkeley Program on Housing and Urban Policy 
(<http://urbanpolicy.berkeley.edu/>http://urbanpolicy.berkeley.edu), 2001.

USEPA, Parking Spaces / Community Places: Finding the Balance Through 
Smart Growth Solutions, Development, Community, and Environment 
Division (DCED); U.S. Environmental Protection Agency 
(<http://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/parking.htm>www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/parking.htm), 
2006.


At 11:14 AM 4/26/2006, Sunny wrote:
>I really like Todd's idea of pricing the parking but implementing the
>same is a bit difficult in the developing cities as there is a
>increasing trend of vehicle ownership. In my opinion initially focussing
>on limiting the available parking spaces and then going with the pricing
>would be better as this firstly might control the ridership and then the
>pricing would have the economic effect.
>
>On the other hand I doubt if parking pricing will really reduce the
>ridership because I presume that parking pricing would make the car user
>aware of the fact that they are being metered for the time they are
>spending for shopping and thereby reduce their shopping time which can
>tend to decrease the sales, yes they might shift to other modes but what
>if the other modes are not as developed as driving a car like in
>Bangkok. Secondly, providing priced or timed parking would allow the
>other car driver to feel that they might get a place to park their car
>and hence avoid them from shifting to other means. Correct me if I am wrong.
>
>Off street parking is the worst case especially when it is free/very
>very cheap like here in Bangkok and when the price is reducing with time
>rather than increasing. but even here i have the same doubts mentioned
>above. I would be glad if someone could clarify me.
>
>Sunny


Sincerely,
Todd Alexander Litman
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (www.vtpi.org)
litman at vtpi.org
Phone & Fax 250-360-1560
1250 Rudlin Street, Victoria, BC, V8V 3R7, CANADA
"Efficiency - Equity - Clarity"

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