Not enough parking downtown

What's the Problem?

A successful downtown will often generate a high demand for parking - a positive sign, but also a potential problem.  Parking shortages in a busy downtown area can mean that shoppers and visitors coming to patronize downtown businesses have trouble finding parking, discouraging them from coming back; that people will circle around looking for parking, congesting roads and polluting the air needlessly; and/or that some people determined to make a quick stop will simply double-park and block both parked cars and traffic. The source of the problem can be too few existing spaces, the location of these spaces, or the use of these spaces.  Downtown parking problems can also be related to commercial vehicles and loading and unloading areas. 

The first step to resolving a downtown parking shortage is to get more information on the roots of the problem by conducting a parking study, ideally evaluating the supply of parking as well as the demand, by block and by time and day. Basic guidance on how to do a count and examples of some recent local counts are available in this toolkit.  (See how to do a parking study.)  Besides providing counts of existing use, surveys are also helpful in determining community priorities. Many communities have used surveys of local businesses to help determine parking needs.  It is often a good idea to involve local merchants and employers in parking studies looking at turnover (how long people stay in a parking space) to show them how it impacts their business, and ask them to survey their customers about their parking needs.  It is also smart to involve residents, particularly those who live nearby or frequently use the area, to determine their need to park and drive, and the impact parking in the downtown has on their neighborhoods, especially whether there are spillover impacts.

Since drivers need to park for different lengths, near different locations, and during different times of the day, "enough parking" will vary with all three. There must be parking available for 15 minutes, for two hours, and all day.  It must be located within convenient walking distance of destinations. And it needs to be sufficient to meet midday demands, evening needs, and weekend peaks. But since all these needs vary, available parking can be flexible. Designating all parking as short term makes more parking spaces available by creating turnover, but customers of many businesses can't finish in 15 or 30 minutes. However, peak demand for quick turnover spaces may be greatest during AM and PM commute times, or around noon, while restaurants and shops will want longer term parking but later in the day or on weekends. Customers carrying packages are likely to need shorter walks than those who are not. Many truck deliveries would prefer to arrive early or late in the day, but need parking right at the destination.

Strategies

Based on the outcomes of the parking study, you can decide how best to proceed:

• On-street parking is insufficient, but pay lots or garages are underutilized.
  • Charge for on-street parking where demand exceeds supply.  If there are already meters for on-street parking, raise hourly rates, or allow meter rates to vary with demand (see charging for parking). 
  • To make this more palatable, make payment easy using advanced meter technology, and/or establish a parking benefit district to reinvest part or all of the revenue from parking fees in maintenance or improvements for the district where it is generated.
  • Discourage shop owners and employees from parking in front of their stores (see employee parking programs).
  • Adjust time limits to encourage shoppers rather than employees/commuters to use on-street parking (see time limits).
  • Implement or encourage downtown property owners and developers to participate in programs to reduce parking demand and traffic, such as car sharing, bicycle parking and amenities, subsidized transit passes, etc (see parking and transportation demand management).

• Public lots and on-street spaces are full, but some private lots are underutilized during periods of peak parking demand.
  • Allow and encourage shared private parking between uses with parking demands peaking at different times of the day, week, or year (see shared parking).
  • Shift to building more public and less private parking by allowing or requiring developers to pay into a fund to be used for building public parking rather than providing parking spaces on-site (see fees-in-lieu).
  • Allow property owners with excess on-site parking to lease extra spaces or charge the public to use them during the site's off-peak hours (see shared parking), or allow them to redevelop the excess space as building space if they pay into a fund to be used for building public parking (see fees-in-lieu). 
  • Charge for on-street parking where demand exceeds supply.  If there are already meters for on-street parking, raise hourly rates, or allow meter rates to vary with demand (see charging for parking).  To make this more palatable, make payment easy using advanced meter technology, and/or establish a parking benefit district to reinvest some of the revenue from parking fees in maintenance or improvements for the district where it is generated.
  • Discourage shop owners and employees from parking in front of their stores (see employee parking programs).

• All existing parking is full at peak periods, including public and private lots and garages as well as on-street spaces.
  • Charge for all on-street parking downtown if this is not already the case.  If there are already meters for on-street parking, raise hourly rates, or allow meter rates to vary with demand (see charging for parking). 
  • Increase enforcement of time limits, permit parking, meters, etc.
  • To make this more palatable, make payment easy using advanced meter technology, and/or establish a parking benefit district to reinvest part or all of the revenue from parking fees in maintenance or improvements for the district where it is generated.
  • Increase the cost of parking in municipal lots and/or garages (see charging for parking).
  • Implement or encourage downtown property owners and developers to participate in programs to reduce parking demand and traffic, such as car sharing, bicycle parking and amenities, subsidized transit passes, etc. (see parking and transportation demand management).
  • Establish shuttles to downtown from remote parking lots, such as park and ride lots, with excess capacity (see remote parking and shuttles).
  • Build additional public parking, ideally combined with retail or other commercial uses, e.g. ground-floor retail below a parking garage (see wrapping parking in retail).

• If truck parking or loading and unloading are a problem:
  • Any successful downtown area will need trucks delivering goods. These trucks can park in regular spaces that customers might otherwise use. Or they can use separate loading zones, space that remains empty when not in use. For a successful and efficient business/downtown, this choice will depend on the frequency of truck deliveries over any given day.