[sustran] PRESS RELEASE - European Parking U-Turn Reaps Rewards: Ideas for the Rest of the World

[Michael Kodransky]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19TH 2011

Media enquiries: Michael Kodransky 646 380 2346 mkodranksy at itdp.org Jessica
Morris 646 673 4393 jmorris at itdp.org or Stephanie Lotshaw 310 567 3484
slotshaw at itdp.org


EUROPEAN PARKING U-TURN REAPS REWARDS:
IDEAS FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD

European cities lead the way in influencing travel behavior through parking
reforms


January 19, 2011, NYC:  European cities are reaping the rewards of
innovative parking policies, including revitalized town centers; big
reductions in car use; drops in air pollution and rising quality of urban
life, according to Europe’s Parking U-Turn: From Accommodation to
Regulation, published today (January 19th) by the Institute for
Transportation and Development Policy.  Click
here<http://www.itdp.org/documents/European_Parking_U-Turn.pdf>for a
copy of the report.

The report examines European parking over the last half century, through the
prism of ten European cities. It found:
• Parking is increasingly linked to public transport. Amsterdam, Paris,
Zurich and Strasbourg limit how much parking is allowed in new developments
based on how far it is to walk to a bus, tram or metro stop. Zurich has made
significant investments in new tram and bus lines while making parking more
expensive and less convenient. As a result, between 2000 and 2005, the share
of public transit use went up by 7%, while the share of cars in traffic
declined by 6%.

• European cities are ahead of the rest of the world in charging rational
prices for on-street parking. In Paris, the on-street parking supply has
been reduced by more than 9% since 2003, and of the remaining stock, 95% is
paid parking. The result, along with other transport infrastructure
improvements, has been a 13% decrease in driving.
• Parking reforms are becoming more popular than congestion charging. While
London, Stockholm, and a few other European cities have managed to implement
congestion charging, more are turning to parking. Parking caps have been set
in Zurich and Hamburg’s business districts to freeze the existing supply,
where access to public transport is easiest.

• Revenue gathered from parking tariffs is being invested to support other
mobility needs. In Barcelona, 100% of revenue goes to operate Bicing—the
city’s public bike system. Several boroughs in London use parking revenue to
subsidize transit passes for seniors and the disabled, who ride public
transit for free.

Walter Hook, Executive Director of ITDP, commented: “This report shows that
European cities lead the world in using parking as a tool to revitalize
their cities.”

The ten cities featured are Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Copenhagen,
London, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Strasbourg and Zurich.

Ends

Note to editors: Please contact Marisa Sandahl at ITDP on + 1 212 629 8001
for hard copies of the report.

Europe’s Parking U-Turn: From Accommodation to Regulation was written by
Michael Kodransky, Global Research Manager at ITDP, and Gabrielle Hermann,
Consultant to ITDP, based on visits to all of the cities featured in this
report over 2009 -2010.

Michael Kodransky will be discussing the report’s findings at a
Transportation Research Board panel on Sunday, January 23rd from 1.30 to
4.30pm. Details are here
http://pressamp.trb.org/conferenceinteractiveprogram/EventDetails.aspx?ID=20253&Email=