Editorial: Parking in the connected and automated era: Operation, planning, and management (original) (raw)

Transport Strategy Refresh - Background Paper - Parking

2018

Car parking is essential to car-based travel, with cars stationary 95 per cent of the time. Occupying at least 12 square metres but as much as 35 square metres per space, parking can account for significant portions of urban land. Car parking policy is relevant to many issues in Australian transport and urban planning– concerns about urban intensification; housing affordability; the liveability of dense urban areas; traffic and congestion; and the sustainability of cities. Parking policy influences transport, housing, and urban design but is sometimes overlooked in debates about cities and their future: it is “expected but unnoticed” (Ben-Joseph 2012). Car parking is an important part of Melbourne’s transport and planning challenge. Conventional car parking policies have long shaped the city’s urban form and transport patterns. A legacy of 20th century approaches to parking policy mean the real cost of parking is rarely paid for upfront, nor is the actual use of or demand for car parking space often monitored. As a result, a growing body of research indicates that car parking is oversupplied and is neither priced nor used efficiently. Demographic changes, car sharing, ride sharing and automated vehicle technologies mean uncertainty over future demand for parking and how best to manage it. Newer approaches to parking policy and to the use or re-use of parking space including for public open space in cities worldwide are the subject of enthusiasm, but also of concerns that change may disadvantage or disrupt communities. An evidence base can help inform public discussion about the trade-offs. This discussion paper acknowledges however that car parking is characterised both by strong beliefs, and by gaps in this evidence base. The City of Melbourne is in a unique position to reflect on parking policies, and consider the advantages and disadvantages of further change. The City has introduced progressive changes to both on-street and off-street parking policies since as early as the 1970s. Unlike most of metropolitan Melbourne, and most Australian cities, parts of the City of Melbourne have maximum rather than minimum requirements for off-street parking. Much of its on-street parking is managed by pricing and timing mechanisms – underscoring more efficient management and use of parking space. The City has a comparatively large population of households without cars; and of trips by non-car modes. City of Melbourne transport policies have long encouraged sustainable and efficient transport modes. While much of the City’s accessible urban form and infrastructure dates to a period of development before cars and car parking, other characteristics of the municipality have been shaped by its car parking policies. The City of Melbourne also has the advantage of extensive parking data, which (although not comprehensive) are in advance of most other areas and give a better evidence base for parking policy decisions than is typically the case worldwide. At the same time, the City of Melbourne has a comparatively high dependence on parking revenue as a revenue source, both from fees and from infringements. Like many cities, the City of Melbourne seeks to balance potentially competing goals with its parking policies: generating revenue, managing car traffic, placing a value on the use of public space, and keeping the city accessible and attractive to visitors. Its policies vary across different parts of the municipality, and are not underpinned by a comprehensive parking plan. This discussion paper summarises parking concepts, academic research on parking, experiences and ideas from other cities, and data on parking in the City of Melbourne. It contains the following: This discussion paper summarises parking concepts, academic research on parking, experiences and ideas from other cities, and data on parking in the City of Melbourne. It contains the following: • A glossary / explainers of some common parking concepts and terms; • A review of the evidence base around parking in academic literature and in the City of Melbourne specifically: its extent and use; and its role in traffic, housing, and retailing. • A summary of car parking policies and their influence: how parking is typically managed, examples of parking policy and practices worldwide, and how City of Melbourne policies fit in these contexts; • Summary of parking policy recommendations, ideas and challenges for the City of Melbourne.

Parking in the city – The implications, innovations and needs for improved policies

Responsible provision of parking space in urban areas is a constant policy challenge, because streetscape is a limited resource and therefore contested between different uses. Emerging planning paradigms and understandings of public space are in the middle of parking regime discussions. Parking ordinances are historically grown (1930ies) rules from times, when the car was a pushed for primary development tool. Parking space regimes have an impact on urban and transport system and numerous connected parameters (e.g. energy consumption). In Austria, historically all parking ordinances have been rigidly focusing on car parking only, leaving bicycle parking aside. After a brief overview of the Austrian situation, we identify how such improved parking policies may be implemented into strategic policy modelling.

The Impact of Bottom-Up Parking Information Provision in a Real-Life Context: The Case of Antwerp

Journal of Advanced Transportation, 2017

A number of studies have analyzed the possible impacts of bottom-up parking information or parking reservation systems on parking dynamics in abstract simulation environments. In this paper, we take these efforts one step further by investigating the impacts of these systems in a real-life context: the center of the city of Antwerp, Belgium. In our simulation, we assume that all on-street and off-street parking places are equipped with technology able to transmit their occupancy status to so-called smart cars, which can receive information and reserve a parking place. We employ PARKAGENT, an agent-based simulation model, to simulate the behavior of smart and regular cars. We obtain detailed data on parking demand from FEATHERS, an activity-based transport model. The simulation results show that parking information and reservation hardly impact search time but do reduce walking distance for smart cars, leading to a reduction in total parking time, that is, the sum of search time and walking time. Reductions in search time occur only in zones with high occupancy rates, while a drop in walking distance is especially observed in low occupancy areas. Societal benefits of parking information and reservation are limited, because of the low impact on search time and the possible negative health effects of reduced walking distance.

Envisioning Parking Strategies for the Post-Automobile City

2010

Parking policies and regulations are important tools in planning for the governance of urban mobility. The proper design and location of parking facilities, in fact, contributes to an efficient use of the transportation system (or it may reduce its efficiency, when these infrastructures are not properly planned). This paper discusses the role of parking as part of the policy packages for strategic planning aimed at increasing the sustainability of urban and metropolitan areas. In particular, the integration of parking strategies in a comprehensive vision for the future of a city may significantly improve the allocation of resources and the reduction of the overall environmental externalities. The role of parking in the strategic planning of cities is discussed through the analysis of several recent projects in the city of Bari (Italy). The paper discusses the way these projects are linked (or eventually not linked) to broader strategies for urban mobility, and how they might be coordinated into policy packages that promote more sustainable transportation. The use of an integrated land use transportation modeling approach to simulate the long-term evolution of the urban area may significantly contribute to estimate the long-term effects of the proposed policies. This approach may successfully support the process of policy evaluation and the selection of the optimal strategies to implement.

Urban parking information provision: an in-depth effect analysis

2012

Recent advances in wireless communication technologies, such as parking sensors, enable real-time information provision on on-street parking places to drivers. These developments have been embraced by policy makers, as they expect that real-time information may reduce traffic searching for a parking place, which sometimes accounts for as much as 30% of all traffic in a city center. Till today, these expectations have not been subjected to rigorous analyses. This PhD thesis shows, using a detailed parking simulation model, that the benefits to society of parking information are likely to be limited. The reduction in search time for drivers with access to information comes at a cost for drivers without access to the information technology. The net effect on search time is close to zero. Hence, information on on-street parking places is unlikely to have the expected positive benefits on noise and air pollution. Local authorities should be careful before committing to invest local funds...

Envisioning Parking Strategies for the Post-Automobile City The Role of Parking in a Framework for Sustainable Urban Transport

2010

Parking policies and regulations are important tools in planning for the governance of urban mobility. The proper design and location of parking facilities, in fact, contributes to an efficient use of the transportation system (or it may reduce its efficiency, when these infrastructures are not properly planned). This paper discusses the role of parking as part of the policy packages for strategic planning aimed at increasing the sustainability of urban and metropolitan areas. In particular, the integration of parking strategies in a comprehensive vision for the future of a city may significantly improve the allocation of resources and the reduction of the overall environmental externalities. The role of parking in the strategic planning of cities is discussed through the analysis of several recent projects in the city of Bari (Italy). The paper discusses the way these projects are linked (or eventually not linked) to broader strategies for urban mobility, and how they might be coor...

Bottom-up Information Provision in Urban Parking: an in-depth analysis of impacts on parking dynamics

2017

Recent advances in wireless communication technologies, such as parking sensors, enable real-time information provision on on-street parking places to drivers. These developments have been embraced by policy makers, as they expect that real-time information may reduce traffic searching for a parking place, which sometimes accounts for as much as 30% of all traffic in a city center. Till today, these expectations have not been subjected to rigorous analyses. This PhD thesis shows, using a detailed parking simulation model, that the benefits to society of parking information are likely to be limited. The reduction in search time for drivers with access to information comes at a cost for drivers without access to the information technology. The net effect on search time is close to zero. Hence, information on on-street parking places is unlikely to have the expected positive benefits on noise and air pollution. Local authorities should be careful before committing to invest local funds...

Off-street residential parking organisation, a review of current practices

2011

This paper is part of a research paper series which focuses on parking organisation in urban environment. It contains a review of the off-street residential parking organisation practises in 6 cities around the world namely: Bangkok, Hong Kong, London, Singapore, Tokyo and Vienna. It consists a finding that the Minimum parking space provision requirement standard is used in most cities except London. Variation in parking policies and regulations can be observed, together with different innovative measures and parking standard adjustment methods. A study to compare number of parking spaces required by different standards is carried out. This paper contains recommendation that further research in other elements of parking organisation such as residential on-street parking or destination on and off-street parking organisation should be carried out. Parking organisation is an effective ‘push’ measure to drive the current transport system towards sustainability.

Parking futures: The relationship between parking space, everyday life and travel demand in the UK

Land Use Policy, 2019

The paper proposes and develops an original concept, dormant vehicles, which refers to vehicles that are stationary while waiting to be used again, such as current parked cars. The concept involves several types of vehicles (cars, bikes, vans, automated vehicles), durations, temporal locations and rates of recurrence that, with the emergence of new mobility futures, would have diverse forms with significant implications for land use, space and place. New forms of dormant vehicle include shared electric vehicles, dock-less bikes and delivery vans that besides parking would present new inbetween use situations such as dropping-off, picking-up, delivering, charging and awaiting repair. The paper highlights that without thinking clearly about these aspects of the future, plans for sustainable, smart cities could fall into a similar trap as in historical versions of automobility and parking, that is, of overlooking dormant vehicles and the ways they shape and are shaped. Rather than parking conveniently disappearing from cities, it is instead likely to change in various respects. The paper sets out to put this research agenda at the forefront, drawing on social theories of practice to propose and develop this new concept, highlighting its potential contribution to urban futures thinking. Ultimately, the paper argues for inverting urban mobility futures to identify the new forms of dormant vehicles associated with them, and consider their implications for land use, space and place.

Parking Management

2014

Purpose: This chapter explains how and why local parking policies are developed, the sometimes conflicting relationship between parking, revenue raising and economic development and the circumstances in which it may be appropriate to use parking policy as a demand management tool. Methodology/approach: This chapter offers a review of prior research and literature on the topic parking management and further explores the impacts and difficulties of parking management. Moreover, empirical data in this chapter comes from the authors’ own survey study of southern, eastern and southeastern European cities about their parking problems and policies. Findings: The findings of this chapter show that there is a need to consider what parking solutions cities may choose and what solutions might work for them. It is difficult to say that very different solutions will suit cities of different sizes, but rather that the level of implementation of the solutions must be related to the scale of the problem in each city, and its citizens’ demands. In addition, each city must work within its particular legislative context, which is why certain solutions might not work in some cities. Practical implications: Parking policy and parking management are key to urban mobility and to managing its negative effects. It is possible to develop a car parking policy that will manage the negative impacts of urban car use whilst also supporting business and the economy; but this is a balancing act, which is why it is important to learn from the experience of other places, as we have shown in this chapter. Parking demand and the response of different cities to it are very important when considering the rise of car use in Europe and other parts of the world. Future solutions for parking problems are detailed at the end of this chapter. Originality/value of paper: This chapter offers a comprehensive overview of prior research in parking management and connects this overview to findings of the authors own survey in south, eastern and southeastern European cities. Very few studies have made similar connections and provided in-depth insights into parking management in European cities. Moreover, the research provides useful information for planners and professionals dealing with parking issues and what solutions might work in their city.