Abstract:
Many fights over new and changed development center on traffic and parking. Low-density, single-use development causes degradation of the built and natural environments. Its consequences include increased emissions, runoff, and loss of habitat. Many communities have responded by encouraging new development in mixed-use, compact ways that provide housing and travel choices, a style commonly known as smart growth. Because of their characteristics, smart growth developments can typically be served with less parking. However, many municipalities rely on inflexible minimum ratios, which do not recognize the wide variety of urban development types. Proven techniques can increase availability without increasing supply by changing parking management and pricing strategies, and improving alternatives to parking. The minimum standards can be made more context-specific, and include on-street and other shared parking as part of the required supply. Minimum requirements can be replaced by maximums and transferable entitlements. Car-sharing and improvements to pedestrian, bike and transit service can decrease the demand for parking at developments. Unbundling pricing from other costs, and balancing costs to reflect costs of service can produce more economically efficient use of all modes. Separately and in combination, these methods reduce the amount of parking required and thereby support better development and improved environmental outcomes. In 1999, the Environmental Protection Agency developed a report, "Parking Alternatives," that documented work to that date; an update will be released in June 2003 as "Parking Spaces/Community Places: Finding the Balance through Smart Growth Solutions." This paper provides highlights from the forthcoming update.
