Thank you to everyone who attended!
The 2017 North Texas Parking Management symposium "Flexible Parking for the Future: Responding to Market Demands and Transportation Choices" was held August 2, 2017 at the Hilton Arlington.
The purpose of the symposium was to focus on these questions:
- How do we build better parking for the estimated 10 million people who will call North Texas home in 2040?
- If cars drive themselves, will they even need to park? What is the latest research and innovative practices in parking management?
- How is parking evolving in response to changing market demands, urban form, and technology?
Event Program
Presentations:
Paris Rutherford, Catalyst Urban Development -- Parking: Myths, Realities, and Opportunities
Reid Ewing, University of Utah -- Trip & Parking Generation at Transit-Oriented Developments; Trip and Parking Generation Rates for Different Housing Types
Research papers (Coming soon)
Ross Conway, Gensler -- The Game-Changing Impacts of the Driverless Car on the Future of Cities
Patrick Siegman, Nelson/Nygaard -- Undoing a Great Planning Disaster: Parking Policies for Today & Tomorrow
City Code, Private Capital and Shifting Parking Requirements (Discussion)
Reid Ewing, University of Utah
Paris Rutherford, Catalyst Urban Development
Patrick Siegman, Nelson/Nygaard
Perspectives on Automated Vehicles and the Parking Future
Thomas Bamonte, NCTCOG
Ross Conway, Gensler
Chad Snyder, Walker Parking
Innovative Parking Management Plans
Tom Grant, Kimley-Horn
Glenn Gadbois, Gadbois Consulting
Barry Lohr, Sundance Square
Best Practices in Green Parking Design for North Texas
Nicole Hays and Geoffrey Reiner, Jacobs
Samit Patel, Dunaway Associates
Technology Applications for Smart Parking
Donzell Gipson and Wendy Nalls, City of Dallas Police Department
Public-Private Coordination for Managed Parking
Peter Elliot, City of Fort Worth
Jacob Gonzalez, Carl Walker, WGI
Paul Stresow, City of El Paso
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Thank you to our sponsors!
Lead Sponsor
Partner Sponsors
Table Sponsor
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Innovative Parking Management
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Automobiles have become an essential part of everyone’s lives. This is why parking supply is also a very important part of every aspect from where
we live to where we do business. Ample parking can give peace of mind that space will be available when you arrive to your destination; however, too
much parking can hinder economic development and be perceived as an unsafe environment to walk. A large amount of land, relative to square feet
of developed property is dedicated solely to parking in the DFW region.
Parking is often found on prime real estate within the central cities and can
limit business expansion, redevelopment, or new development since limiting those spaces may not be allowed per City regulations. Parking
placement is also an issue. Parking located in a business frontage can provide a barrier and unsafe condition for people to walk from the sidewalk
to the store front. The table below provides more parking problems and possible solutions. Parking is a good and necessary resource for vehicles
but the quantity and placement when designed for only the car can create conflicts for alternative modes and may not take into account possible
reductions that could occur if more modes where accessible. |
“Cities have needed parking spaces ever since the two-wheeled chariot was invented in Sumeria about 5,000 years ago, but parking did not become a pandemic problem until the 20th century when cars appeared in great numbers.”
Donald Shoup, The Practice of Parking Requirements |
Comparing Perspectives of Parking
Problems
Perspective |
Problem Definition |
Potential Solutions |
Supply-oriented |
Inadequate supply, excessive price. |
Have governments, businesses and residents supply more parking. Increase minimum parking standards. |
Information-oriented |
Inadequate user information. |
Create signs, brochures and other information resources indicating parking availability and price. |
Choice-oriented |
Inadequate consumer options. |
Increase the range of parking convenience and price levels available to consumers. |
Pricing Convenience |
Pricing is inconvenient. |
Develop more convenient payment and time options. |
Efficiency-oriented |
Inefficient use of existing parking capacity. |
Share parking facilities. Implement transport and parking demand management. Price parking. Provide shuttle services to parking facilities. |
Demand-oriented |
Excessive automobile use. |
Improve access and transport choice. Transport and parking demand management programs. |
Spillover impacts |
Inadequate parking causes problems in other locations. |
Use management strategies to respond to spillover problems. Improve enforcement of parking regulations. |
External impacts |
Parking facilities impose external costs. |
Reduce parking minimums. Price parking. Improve parking facility design. Implement TDM programs. |
| Source: Victoria Transport Policy Institute, Parking Evaluation |
A small sample of cities in Dallas-Fort Worth that provide parking solutions:
The City of Fort Worth is running a pilot parking project utilizing meters with ultra-low-power sensors that indicate parking availability through a smart phone app. This reduces the need to drive around looking for a parking spot.
The City of Greenville provides for a limit of 50 percent reduction in parking requirements for mixed-use projects or nearby uses with distinctly different
peak
parking demand characteristics or hours of operation.
One of the issues that causes parking demand and supply problems is the perception that parking is free because you park and don’t pay directly for the space. Parking costs are often recuperated through the person leasing the space which increases the cost of business and may be passed down to the merchandise
being sold so the end user pays for parking indirectly whether they need the parking space or not. Parking can cost anywhere from $5,000 to $32,000 per space which is dependent on land value, structure, and amenities. Surface parking consists of paved land where the vehicle can park. Structured parking,
sometimes referred to as garage parking, consists of various levels that allow parking in each level.
Parking Cost Estimates as of 2007
Type |
Construction Costs
per Space |
Comments |
Surface parking |
$5,000 - $10,000 |
Range includes from low-end asphalt to details such as cobbles and brick pavers |
Parking under townhome |
$14,000 |
|
Multi-family (Texas Donut) or
mid-rise building |
$17,000 - $20,000 |
Open undecorated parking decks |
Multi-level with special features |
$28,000 - $32,000 |
If the parking is to be incorporated into the urban fabric of a community, the cost of a special feature like retail wrap or an enhanced facade typically adds additional cost of a parking space |
| Source: TCRP Report 128 Effects of TOD on Housing, Parking and Travel |
There are solutions to the parking problems such as Parking Management. Parking management refers to the policy and program strategies that utilize existing
parking facilities more efficiently. Here are some of the most common parking management strategies:
Shared Parking – this results in one or more businesses sharing the parking facility mainly because their business hours are different. For example, an office
may not need to utilize parking spaces in the evenings or weekends, during which time an establishment such as a restaurant could utilize the spaces in these
off-peak periods.
Park-and-Ride – this can result in parking being placed in more remote areas and users can be shuttled to the destination. This helps alleviate parking supply in
an area such as a downtown where land can be scarcer.
Unbundle Parking – this can result in parking being sold or rented separately than a building’s purchase or lease price. The building’s occupants are then able to
purchase or lease the actual parking spaces that are needed. Cities and developers/builders would work together on the appropriate reduction allocation.
The table below provides many more Parking Management Strategies and their associated impacts.
Parking Management Strategies
Strategy |
Description |
Typical
Reduction |
Traffic
Reduction |
Shared Parking |
Have each parking space serve multiple users and destinations. |
10 - 30% |
|
Parking Regulations |
Regulations that favor higher-value uses such as service vehicles, deliveries, customers, quick errands, and people with special needs. |
10 - 30% |
|
More Accurate and Flexible Standards |
Adjust parking standards to more accurately reflect demand in a particular situation. |
10 - 30% |
|
Parking Maximums |
Establish maximum parking standards. |
10 - 30% |
|
Remote Parking |
Provide off-site or urban fringe parking facilities. |
10 - 30% |
|
Smart Growth |
Encourage more compact, mixed, multi-modal development to allow more parking sharing and use of alternative modes. |
10 - 30% |
X |
Walking and Cycling
Improvements |
Improve walking and cycling conditions to expand the range of destinations serviced by a parking facility. |
5 - 15% |
X |
Increase Capacity of
Existing Facilities |
Increase parking supply by using otherwise wasted space, smaller stalls, car stackers and valet parking. |
5 - 15% |
|
Mobility
Management |
Encourage more efficient travel patterns, including changes in mode, timing, destination and vehicle trip frequency. |
10 - 30% |
X |
Parking Pricing |
Charge motorists directly and efficiently for using parking facilities. |
10 - 30% |
X |
Improve Pricing
Methods |
Use better charging techniques to make pricing more convenient and
cost effective. |
NA |
X |
Financial Incentives |
Provide financial incentives to shift mode. |
10 - 30% |
X |
Unbundle Parking |
Rent or sell parking facilities separately from building space. |
10 - 30% |
X |
Parking Tax Reform |
Tax parking facilities and their use. |
5 - 15% |
X |
Bicycle Facilities |
Provide bicycle storage and changing facilities. |
5 - 15% |
X |
Improve User
Information
and
Marketing |
Provide convenient and accurate information on parking availability and price, using maps, signs, brochures and electronic communication. |
5 - 15% |
X |
Improve
Enforcement |
Ensure that parking regulation enforcement is efficient, considerate and fair. |
NA |
|
Transportation
Management
Associations |
Establish member-controlled organizations that provide transport and parking management services in a particular area. |
NA |
X |
Overflow Parking
Plans |
Establish plans to deal with periods of peak parking demand. |
NA |
|
Address Spillover
Problems |
Use management, enforcement and pricing to address spillover problems, such as undesirable use of nearby parking facilities. |
NA |
|
Parking Facility
Design
and Operation |
Improved parking facility design and operations to help solve problems and achieve parking management objectives. |
NA |
|
| Source: Parking Management Strategies, Evaluation and Planning, Todd Litman 2006 |
Links and Resources
The Victoria Transport Policy Institute contains a good source of compiled lists of data and studies relating to Parking topics. Please visit http://www.vtpi.org/tdm/tdm73.htm#_Toc18599156
Travel Demand Management (TDM) program contains parking information regarding park-and-ride facilities. Please visit http://www.nctcog.org/trans/cmp/tdm/PNRLocations.asp
Parking cash-out programs allow employers who provide free parking to offer a cash allowance to employees who choose not to use a parking space and
instead find an alternative means to commute to the worksite. To learn more about the Parking Cash-Out program, please visit http://www.nctcog.org/trans/air/programs/parking/index.asp
The Metropolitan Transportation Commission in California has a parking policy to support smart growth and developed a parking model.
For more information please visit http://www.mtc.ca.gov/planning/smart_growth/parking/parking_seminar.htm
North Texas Parking Management Symposium
December 2, 2014
This regional symposium addressed various parking related topics such as parking policies, practices, management, and implementation strategies. Local public sector professionals from North Texas communities, national experts, and developers discussed the challenges and solutions for sustainable parking in the growing region. The symposium included a mobile tour of various innovative parking pilot projects in Dallas.
The agenda for the symposium and presentations from each guest speaker and local panelists are below:
Agenda
Parking Professional Presentations
Local Government Panel Presentations
Local Developer Panel Presentations
For more information, contact Travis Liska at tliska@nctcog.org or (817) 704-2512. |
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