01372529

Component

The conventional approach to parking provision in the U.S. has been to anticipate trip generation and provide enough parking to meet the anticipated peak demand. This study reveals that in some places, this has resulted in parking provision that exceeds the total number of drivers or automobiles. This study provides basic data regarding parking provision at the city scale that is needed to better understand the role of parking within complex urban systems. For this study, data was compiled to assess changes in parking provision and travel behavior for three small New England cities – New Haven and Hartford, Connecticut, and Cambridge, Massachusetts – from 1960 to 2009. The findings reveal that the number of parking spaces per driver doubled in New Haven and Hartford. In Cambridge, however, the number of parking spaces has decreased since 1985, even while the number of drivers increased. This paper offers explanations for these differing trends and for the apparent disparity between parking provision and real demand in some cities. This study also provides a basis for reevaluating conventional views of parking demand based on the approaches taken in Cambridge.

This paper was sponsored by TRB committee ABE50 Transportation Demand Management

01362476

12-4385

English

14p

2012

Transportation Research Board 91st Annual Meeting

Digital/other

Figures; References (18) ; Tables

Cities and towns; Parking; Parking demand; Parking garages; Travel behavior; Trip generation; Urban areas

Cambridge (Massachusetts); Hartford (Connecticut); New Haven (Connecticut)

Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Planning and Forecasting; I10: Economics and Administration; I20: Design and Planning of Transport Infrastructure

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting 2012 Paper #12-4385

TRIS, TRB

Feb 8 2012 5:23PM