Civil Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Table 22.13 Examples of cost-related parking policy mechanisms
Type of facility
Applicable policy mechanism
Municipal parking facilities
Off-street
Increase cost per hour directly or in-directly via parking taxes
(
(flat or selective rate based on location, day of week, or elapsed
time)
fl
Impose surcharges for all-day (over 4-h) use
Increase meter cost per hour
Private commercial lots
Impose parking taxes
Reduce or remove parking subsidies
Impose surcharges (flat or selective)
Free parking spaces provided by
Employers for staff
On-street
Impose a surcharge on employees for single-passenger vehicle
parking; reduce to half for two-passenger car-pools and to zero for
carpools with three or more members; subsidize transit-riding
employees
Businesses for customers
Imposed a surcharge on owner equivalent to estimated surcharge
proceeds from commercial lots
Reduce or remove parking subsidies
Source
Reference [
16
]
22.4.4 Price Elasticity
Parking demand price elasticity for individual employment sites and location
generally ranges from
0.3. Thus there is up to 3 % reduction in parking
use for a 10 % increase in parking fees [
6
].
A further discussion of pricing strategies to reduce VMT and their reported
effectiveness follows.
0.1 to
−
−
22.4.5 Reducing Employer Subsidies
One way of reducing congestion is to reduce or eliminate free parking for commuter
driver trips. This is sometimes done by
the employee subsidies. The
effectiveness of individual programs depends upon the availability of transportation
alternatives and the enactment of local regulations to prevent drivers from parking
elsewhere in the immediate area.
Results of a 1986 survey of free and subsidized parking in various parts of
downtown Los Angeles are shown in Table
22.14
. In all cases car use was reduced
and transit use was increased when parking subsidies were eliminated [
17
].
California
“
cashing out
”
'
“
”
legislation, enacted in 1992, requires employers
to offer employees the option to choose cash in lieu of any kind of parking subsidy.
The legislation applied only to large employers located in air quality non-attainment
areas who subsidized parking costs, and who could reduce the number of parking
spaces leased for their employees without penalty.
s
parking cash out
