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PARKING IS AN ESSENTIAL component of the transportation system. Vehicles must park at every destination. A typical automobile is parked 23 hours each day and uses several parking spaces each week.
Parking facilities are a major cost to society, and parking conflicts are among the most common problems facing designers, operators, planners and other officials. Such problems can be often defined either in terms of supply (too few spaces are available, somebody must build more) or in terms of management (available facilities are used inefficiently and should be better managed).
Parking management refers to policies and programs that result in more efficient use of parking resources. Parking management is based on the general principles listed in the box above, and includes several specific strategies. When appropriately applied, parking management can significantly reduce the number of parking spaces required in a particular situation, providing a variety of economic, social and environmental benefits. When all impacts are considered, improved management is often the best solution to parking problems.
PARADIGM SHIFT
Parking management represents a paradigm shift, that is, a fundamental change in how a problem is perceived and solutions evaluated. The current paradigm assumes that parking should be abundant and free. Under the old paradigm, parking problem means that inadequate free parking is available at each destination. The new paradigm strives to provide optimal parking supply and price. It considers too much supply as harmful as too little, and prices that are too low as harmful as those that are too high.
The old paradigm assumes that parking lots should almost never fill, that parking facility costs should be incorporated into the costs of buildings or subsidised by governments, and that every destination should satisfy its own parking needs. The new paradigm strives to use parking facilities efficiently. It considers full lots to be acceptable, provided that additional parking is available nearby, and that any spillover problems are addressed. It emphasises sharing of parking facilities between different destinations. It favours charging users directly for parking facility costs, and providing savings to people who reduce their parking demand.
PARKING MANAGEMENT STRATEGIES
Table 1 on page 18 lists seventeen parking management strategies and their impacts. Of course, not every strategy can be applied in every situation. Planners must carefully...