This document summarizes a discussion on parking management and its implications for active transportation. It notes that there is often an oversupply of parking spaces, taking up large amounts of urban land, driven by factors like zoning requirements and a lack of parking data. An oversupply of parking encourages driving over other modes of transportation and increases development costs. The document advocates for right-sizing parking to better match demand rather than relying on national averages, which could free up land and lower costs. It also suggests developing local parking demand data, simplifying parking codes, and investing in shared parking structures to support more dense development.
2. Discussion Points
• Numbers on parking – what is actually happening
• Factors that lead to overbuilding
• Implications of cost
• Potential solutions
2
3. What is happening….
•Upwards of 2 Billion
No. of parking
Spaces in US
•About 20%
Urban land
devoted to parking
•About 3 : 1
Common suburban
ratio of parking SF
to building SF
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4. Why so much parking…
Overbuilding of
parking
High Vehicle
Ownership
Code
requirements/Land
Use Planning
Single use parking
facilities
Market norms
Lack of parking
management/data
Undersupply
anxiety
Alternative Modes
Stigmatized
5. • Parking is very
expensive to build.
• Overbuilt parking
increases development
cost and negatively
influences access to
transit.
• An oversupply of
parking encourages
driving and congests
our roadways.
WHY IS RIGHT SIZED
PARKING IMPORTANT?
6. 6
• Average overbuild
25% - 40% (mostly
surface parking)
• Adds unnecessary
cost to project
development
• Inefficient use of
land
• Surface @ $8,000
per stall can add
$1.96 - $2.18 per
foot to leasing cost
(annual).
• Garage @ $30,000
per stall can add
$6.00 - $7.30 per
foot to leasing cost
(annual)
Why we should get it right……
9. When these findings are applied to a typical suburban project with
150 units, roughly $800,000 would be spent on unused
parking.
On average, we found that multi-
family parking is supplied at 1.4
spaces per dwelling unit but is only
used at about 1 space per unit.
Why we should
get it right…..
OLD
MODEL
10. • Code drives demand.
• No clear understanding of demand.
• “Demand” is stalls built rather than stalls actually
used.
• Lack of localized true demand data – left to use
national models that are severely flawed.
• Self fulfilling prophecy (code and appraisal)
• Transitioning to more dense parking in suburban
areas will require innovation and partnership.
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What the experts say*…
* From 2012 King County Right Sizing Parking Interviews
11. Parking requirements
Revisiting past practice
Reliance on rule of thumb, national averages, rates of
competing cities (except Portland Central City)
Apparent precision with weak empirical basis
Interplay of city requirements, developer expectations,
community expectations
Driven by lack of on-street parking management and
pricing
12. What’s next….
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Today Tomorrow
• Continued reliance on surface parking will not support suburban visions
• “The market” will not support structured parking development in suburban
settings.
• Solution is in addressing myths, realities and initiating innovative planning
13. • “True demand” occupancy by land use type and
area
• Stop relying on ITE or other cities view of demand
Develop local demand
data base
• Reduce minimums
• Reduce land use categories
• Eliminate credits
Simplify code parking
requirements
• Suburban development cannot pencil garages
• Tie public investment with code minimums (fee-in-
lieu)
Invest in District
Garages
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Moving Forward – Changing Status
Quo
Calibrate code to vision
• Visions don’t just happen
• Create coalitions, partners and educate on realities
and trade-offs of adopted visions
