Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 22.1 Relationship between downtown parking supply and transit use in Canadian cities
City
CBD share of
area
employment (%)
CBD
of
ce
space
(1,000 ft
2
)
Parking
spaces
per
1,000
ft
2
Parking
spaces
per CBD
employee
Park and
ride spaces
per CBD
employee
AM peak
hour CBD
transit
share (%)
Saskatoon
20.7
3,600
3.5
0.79
-
14.6
Edmonton
20.2
15,133
2.1
0.51
0.029
32.0
Calgary
23.4
31,493
1.3
0.46
0.084
38.8
Montreal
14.9
87,996
1.0
0.38
0.270
48.7
Winnipeg
26.1
17,478
1.4
0.36
-
39.7
Vancouver
16.3
n/a
n/a
0.29
0.034
46.0
Toronto
25.37
61,570
1.5
0.29
0.122
64.1
Ottawa
31.7
21,024
1.1
0.28
0.008
48.8
Listed in order of decreasing ratios of long-term parking spaces per CBD employee
Source
References [
3
], pp 17
18, Table 18.3 and [
8
]
-
Some congested suburban activity centers also have limited their parking supply
as part of measures that contain traf
c congestion and improve air quality.
Downtown Bellevue, Washington, for example, with a 24,000 employees estab-
lished a maximum of 2.4 spaces per 1,000 ft
2
of of
ce building space. This has
resulted in a reported 18 % reduction in vehicle trips [
3
].
Although a common practice is to set a ceiling (or limit) on the parking space
supply in the city center, an alternative policy is to establish
minimum
and
maximum
zoning requirements for various land uses. Zoning requirements would re
ect
development density, level of transit service available in the area, and any restrictions
on automobile access. An illustrative example of this mini-max strategy is shown in
Table
22.2
[
9
]. This strategy can be modi
fl
ect the needs of any urban area.
Employees and institutions usually set their own parking supply requirements,
including price and space incentives and disincentives. Sometimes priority parking
is provided for high-occupancy vehicles. And some local
ed to re
fl
jurisdictions restrict
parking for non-residents in their neighborhoods.
22.2.3.1 Examples and Effects
Central business districts parking supply management is found in several large US
and Canadian cities.
Boston instituted a downtown parking freeze in November, 1972 when addi-
tional expressway construction was stopped and a decision was made to improve
transit access; New York City discouraged development of additional off-street
parking in the Manhattan business district; Seattle limited the amount of downtown
parking where there is good transit access; Portland set a ceiling of 40,000 spaces
for its downtown parking supply; and San Francisco limits free-standing parking
facilities in the city center.
