Wiki Wednesday: Parking Policy

268083322_dde7d5af1d.jpgWhen a coalition of public interest groups including Transportation Alternatives released the "Suburbanizing the City" report last month, we learned that, following current New York City parking policies, the construction of new off-street spaces is projected to result in over a billion additional miles driven per year by 2030. Startling as it was, this statistic crystallized what many livable streets advocates already accept as conventional wisdom: more parking equals more driving.

It follows, then, that the StreetsWiki entry on parking policy would be a thorough one, covering everything from the shredding of urban fabric in the 1950s to state-of-the-art concepts like parking meter districts and variable pricing:

Ideally, rates between on-street and off-street spaces should be
similar, with the most convenient spaces priced the highest. This is
contrary to the usual practice, where parking meter rates are minimal
and spaces in parking structures are set far higher, reflecting the
cost of providing them. This results in drivers “cruising” for parking,
adding significantly to traffic and pollution.

With advocates actively urging New York City planners and transportation officials to adopt consistent, coordinated regs more suited to the urban environment — and as progressive policies are explored in other cities — expect the parking policy page to be a StreetsWiki favorite for some time to come.

To contribute to this or any other StreetsWiki entry, or to add your own, start by joining the Livable Streets Network.

Photo: christinaa/Flickr

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Senior Philly Planner, Unlike NYC Peers, Says Parking Minimums Matter

|
We reported last week that Boston, Philadelphia and Washington D.C. are each making policy shifts to curb the proliferation of off-street parking even as New York City continues to enable the construction of more and more traffic-inducing, land-devouring parking. Streetsblog followed up with Debbie Schaaf, a senior transportation planner at Philadelphia’s planning department, about her […]

The Power of Parking Policy

|
This is the third in a three-part series on New York City parking policy.Part 1: The New York City Parking Boom  Part 2: Parking: If You Build it They Will Come… in Their Cars Over the course of the last year, New York City’s transportation policy community has spent tremendous time, energy and money pursuing […]

New York Falls Behind Big Northeast Cities on Parking Policy

|
The city of Philadelphia recently released a draft of its new comprehensive plan, Philadelphia2035 [PDF]. The plan’s release makes New York the last city in the four largest Northeastern metro areas that hasn’t so much as stated a commitment to cutting back on off-street parking. Philadelphia2035 calls for controlling congestion by adding parking maximums into […]

To Curb Congestion, Parking Reform Must Be in PlaNYC Update

|
Three years ago, the Regional Plan Association held a panel on congestion pricing at its annual conference. The title of the discussion was “Making Cars Pay Their Way.” At the 2011 conference last Friday, a similar panel on curbing traffic took the more generic title, “Strategies to Manage Congestion.” The difference is telling. Instead of […]

Shoup Dogg, Parking Policy Cult Hero, Fills Fordham Auditorium

|
Click to play Streetsblog’s Donald Shoup theme song:[mp3]shoop30.mp3[/mp3] Spencer Wilking reports: There’s nothing more blessed to the New York City driver than finding an open parking spot. Donald Shoup, professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, would like New Yorkers to reconsider that ideal. The parking policy cult hero addressed a crowd at Fordham’s Pope Auditorium […]