[sustran] Re: Is park-and-ride a bad idea for Asian cities?

Simon Bishop simon.bishop at dimts.in
Thu May 13 14:21:24 JST 2010


In my view park and ride is a bit like 'closing the stable door after the horse has bolted'.  In Asian cities where '70% of urban infrastructure that will be present by 2050 has not yet been built', the paradigm seems to be on re-creating a version of the American Dream where suburban gated communities situated close to inter-urban expressways promise the kind of calm, tranquil environment for lives to unwind from the chaos, dangers and pollution (mainly caused by traffic) of the anarchic city.  It is a heady cocktail that marks one out as having 'made it' in this part of the world.  

In this context, a Metro based system with huge parking lots makes sense.  Feeder buses are fine, but as we know, unless routes are direct people will much more easily zip in their cars to the parking lot, or better still cut out the middle man and go direct to the office. As a teenager I remember wondering why it took nearly two hours to travel 14 miles from Bristol to where my parents lived in Gloucestershire.  The windy, convoluted trips round cul-de-sacs served the needs of those too poor, old or young to own a car and no one else.  Asian cities are blindly headed in the same direction, or are they?  

Did you, as part of the study Paul look at the emerging typologies of suburban residential development in Asian cities and how this is affecting demand for park and ride?  If suburban dreams are being replicated can anything be done to confront powerful aspirations?  Only now people in Western countries are starting to enjoy city living again and perhaps not even then those with young families who, in the city environment remain corralled by busy urban arterials and parental fears of road accidents and abductions.  

-----Original Message-----
From: sustran-discuss-bounces+simon.bishop=dimts.in at list.jca.apc.org [mailto:sustran-discuss-bounces+simon.bishop=dimts.in at list.jca.apc.org] On Behalf Of Paul Barter
Sent: Thursday, May 13, 2010 9:21 AM
To: Sustran-discuss at list.jca.apc.org
Subject: [sustran] Is park-and-ride a bad idea for Asian cities?

My latest blog post asks this question:  Is park-and-ride a bad idea<http://reinventingtransport.blogspot.com/2010/05/is-park-and-ride-bad-idea.html>? - especially for dense parts of Asian cities

Is parking really the best use of space near high-capacity, high-frequency mass transit systems in high-density urban areas? Is this the best use of precious public funds? (especially public transport funds!)

See more at http://reinventingtransport.blogspot.com/2010/05/is-park-and-ride-bad-idea.html

I think planners and transport policy-makers should be much more sceptical of park-and-ride investments. This seems especially important in dense neighbourhoods.

I know this is not a new debate. But our recent parking study encountered so much enthusiasm for park-and-ride in so many cities that I think the issue needs to be revisited.

What do you think?  [Please respond to sustran-discuss or the comments on the blog, not just my private email. Let's have some public discussion on this.]


Paul

Paul A. Barter
http://www.spp.nus.edu.sg/Faculty_Paul_Barter.aspx
http://reinventingtransport.blogspot.com/

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