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Smart Growth

Parking Policy for Smart Growth

November 9, 2012 Workshop Materials

Posters from 2012 Workshop

Visual Highlights poster    Parking structure framework

MTC Parking Initiative: July 2012 Wrap Up

people

Well-designed access and parking policies are essential strategies for creating vibrant commercial districts, supporting livable neighborhoods, and providing housing and travel choices for your community. Over the last six months, the award-winning MTC Parking Initiative focused on technical analyses and communications methods, culminating in a series of parking workshops aimed at planning and transportation professionals. These workshops built on an ongoing regional initiative to better examine issues and opportunities around parking policies. Participants were surveyed afterwards about desired next steps for MTC to undertake. The following videos summarize key issues, including quick engaging takes in the five minute versions, while the variety of reports provide more detailed information.

Videos Reports, Tools, Case Studies, Surveys

Additional Parking Policy Materials

For more information on the Regional Parking Initiative please contact Valerie Knepper at vknepper@mtc.ca.gov or 510 817-5824.

Regional Parking Initiative: Wrap up for 2011

Summary

The work conducted during 2010- 2011 included the survey of local jurisdictions’ interests and challenges, parking fundamentals workshops, parking 201 sessions, are summarized in the presentation and report below. Recommendations are included in the closing of the summary

A core objective of MTC’s Smart Parking Technical Assistance Project is to provide support for local jurisdictions toward implementing local parking policy reform to support smart growth. The following summarizes case studies from the 2011 “Parking 201” effort:


Other Parking Policy Efforts

Parking policies are the subject of a great many new studies and policy/planning efforts: some key studies are referenced below.

For more information on the Regional Parking Initiative please contact Valerie Knepper at vknepper@mtc.ca.gov or 510 817-5824.

Regional Parking Initiative: Wrap up for 2010

The Joint Policy Committee recognized the impact of parking policies on travel mode choice in the short run and on land use patterns in the long run, and established a regional role to make significant progress on this difficult issue. The regional role entails both support for local jurisdictions and other regional activities. Regional parking reform strategies under discussion are described here (PDF).

1) Survey Findings /Support for Local Jurisdictions

We surveyed local jurisdictions on:

  • Current local parking policies and practices
  • Awareness and interest in a range of parking reform strategies, both in the short term (within 10 years), and in the longer term (10-20 years)
  • Perceived obstacles to reform
  • Interest in education and consulting assistance
  • Requests for regional assistance, including capital and planning funds
  • Specific requests for funding for parking management implementation, amounts and specific uses

Eighty-six respondents answered the survey, providing a wealth of information.

The Key Survey Results (Word) show a strong interest in new parking pricing and management strategies among the majority of local jurisdictions. The full report, Parking Survey and Training Assessment Summary Report (PDF), provides more detailed information about practices, interests, obstacles and requests for assistance to implement parking reforms.

Parking Fundamentals Sessions

We conducted two large training sessions on March 24 & 25, 2011, utilizing the MTC publication Reforming Parking Policies to Support Smart Growth and focusing on how local jurisdictions can reform their approach to parking policies. We described various strategies for different situations, best practices, local engagement, and the MTC database tool for re-estimating parking demand under various conditions such as shared parking, proximity to transit, and pricing.

Parking Advanced Planning Labs

We are conducting six customized “Parking Advanced Implementation Labs” that will each focus on a particular actionable policy of a specific local jurisdiction seeking professional assistance. Write-ups on these sessions will be included here as completed.

2) Other Regional Parking Campaign Activities

Staff are also pursing or considering complementary regional activities including:

  • Climate Initiative Innovative Grants Program
    Includes funding for a major parking reform project to test and demonstrate key parking reform strategies in the City of Berkeley
  • Station area planning efforts — strengthen the requirements for analysis of parking reforms
  • MTC Res. No.3434 — evaluate a requirement for an analysis of alternatives to new parking structures prior to commitment of regional funds
  • CMAs — work with CMAs to develop a stronger role for CMA support of parking reform
  • Develop a “green parking” monitoring, reward and/or certification program
  • Commuter Benefit Ordinances (CBOs) — strengthen work with employee groups and businesses to provide cash out and free/discounted transit options as an alternative to free or discounted parking for employees
  • Federal and state laws — work with our partners for reforms pertaining to parking, such as the elimination of federal tax subsidies for employee parking
  • Cooperative approaches for transit agency– local jurisdiction parking management — work to develop agreements and refine parking replenishment policies for TODs

For more information on the Regional Parking Initiative please contact Valerie Knepper at vknepper@mtc.ca.gov or 510 817-5824.

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