[sustran] Parking Management Best Practices - Discount Expires Feb. 28

[Todd Alexander Litman]

"Parking Management Best Practices" 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/PMBP_Flyer.pdf>http://www.vtpi.org/PMBP_Flyer.pdf 
) is an important new book that will change the 
way you think about and solve parking problems. 
It describes more than two-dozen strategies that 
result in more efficient use of parking 
resources, and explains how to assemble them into 
an effective parking management program.

Parking management can provide huge savings and 
benefits. Cost-effective parking management 
programs typically reduce parking requirements by 
20-40% compared with what conventional planning 
specifies. This provides numerous economic, 
social and environmental benefits. Parking 
management can reduce parking facility costs, 
increase housing affordability, reduce motor 
vehicle traffic, encourage use of alternative 
modes, support more compact and accessible land 
use patterns, create more livable communities, 
reduce impervious surface and stormwater 
management costs, and allow more flexible building design.

Current planning practices tend to overlook and 
discourage parking management solutions even when 
they are most cost effective and beneficial 
overall. This book identifies problems with 
current parking planning practices, discusses 
parking costs and the savings that can result 
from improved management, describes specific 
parking management strategies and how they can be 
implemented, discusses methods for parking 
management planning and evaluation, and describes 
how to develop the optimal parking management 
program for a particular situation.

"Parking Management Best Practices" is written by 
VTPI Executive Director Todd Litman and published 
by Planners Press 
(<http://www.planning.org>www.planning.org). See 
the flyer at 
<http://www.vtpi.org/PMBP_Flyer.pdf>http://www.vtpi.org/PMBP_Flyer.pdf 
for a substantial discount for orders made before February 28, 2006.

For additional information see our free new 
report, "Parking Management: Strategies, 
Evaluation and Planning" 
(<http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf>http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf 
), which summarizes the ideas in "Parking Management Best Practices."
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


DEPAVING FOR PARADISE – Preface from "Parking Management Best Practices"
Years ago, singer Joni Mitchell lamented that 
'They’ve paved paradise and put up a parking 
lot.' The song resonates because there is much to 
dislike about parking facilities. They tend to be 
unattractive and displace more pleasant land 
uses. Yet, the same people who protest these 
costs often travel by automobile, and require 
parking at their destination. We dislike parking 
facilities until we need one, at which time we 
want it to be abundant, convenient and free. The 
tension between the high costs of parking 
facilities and our desire for them creates a 
conflict for individuals, businesses and communities.

This book attempts to reconcile this conflict. It 
describes a variety of management strategies that 
can increase the efficiency of parking activities 
and reduce the amount of parking required in a 
particular situation. This is a practical and 
effective way to save money and land, create more 
attractive communities, increase user 
convenience, and support various other planning objectives.

Most parking management strategies have modest 
individual impacts: a five percent reduction 
here, a ten percent reduction there, but together 
they can often reduce total parking requirements 
by a quarter, a third, or even more. This can 
represents the difference between a successful or 
unsuccessful development, an ugly or beautiful 
streetscape, a walkable or automobile-dependent community.

Our challenge is noble but formidable. There are 
often obstacles to the implementation of 
innovative parking management programs. So arm 
yourself before you proceed. Be sure that you are 
familiar with all possible parking management 
strategies. Identify and publicize benefits. 
Develop contingency plans. Treat your allies with 
kindness and your foes with respect. Ultimately 
you will succeed, because the strategies 
described in this book truly make the world a 
better place. Parking management helps create paradise.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


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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