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Smart Growth

MTC Smart Parking Workshops: June 11, 12 & 13

New Partners for Smart Growth Conference:
Putting Parking in its Place

Parking Campaign 2012:
Workscope

Existing Context, Interviews and Survey

Identify existing context for parking policies in the Bay Area. Conduct survey of adopted parking regulations and standards. Solicit input from stakeholders, identify parking policy baseline for the Bay Area.

Deliverables:

  • Summary memo of stakeholder interviews.
  • Summary of Bay Area Parking Regulations Survey Findings

Parking Structure Analysis and Guidance

Identify key issues and provide guidance for local jurisdictions when considering public parking structures and other modal options.

Deliverable:

  • Parking Structure Analysis and Guidance Memorandum

Parking Code Analysis and Guidance

Deliverables:

  • Parking Code Analysis and Guidance Paper
  • Local Implementation Toolkit

Visual/graphical tool development

Deliverables:

  • Three to four visual/graphical tools

Parking Workshops

Deliverables:

  • Workshop materials
  • Completion of 3 workshops

Feedback and Evaluation

Deliverable:

  • Online survey instrument for workshop participants

Wrap up for 2011

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. This effort is a component of the Smart Growth. The following jurisdictions and issues were selected for the 2011 “Parking 201” effort:

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

Other recent studies

Parking policies are the subject of a great many new studies and policy/planning efforts: some key studies will be cited here in the near future. Let me know if you are aware of new studies you would like to see here.

Valerie Knepper at vknepper@mtc.ca.gov or 510 817-5824.

See also:

Regional Parking Reform Campaign

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


See also:

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

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