Clamping wheels
Policy tools for managing parking demand
A survey of literature from across the world shows demand for parking is infinite and no amount of supply can meet it. But carefully priced parking can significantly change demand for parking and commuter choice for alternative modes of transport. Here are some examples:
>> Parking availability in Bangkok is greater than in Australian cities and is comparable to US cities. And yet it is under severe pressure to provide more parking. And then there are Singapore, Tokyo and Hong Kong which manage well with parking capacity one-fifth of Bangkok, because they have capped car use through a variety of measures
>> Portland in Oregon was one of the first cities in the US to limit parking space supply to deter the use of cars. It capped parking spaces in its downtown to 40,000.Use of public transport increased from 20-25 per cent in the early 1970s to 48 per cent in the mid-1990s
>> Seattle in the US allows a maximum of one parking space per 100 sq m of downtown office space. Two downtown facilities reduced parking fees for carpoolers, leading to an increase in carpooling. While 25 per cent of the carpoolers previously were solo drivers, 45 per cent previously used public transport
>> San Francisco informally limits parking supply. Only 7 per cent of a building's gross floor area can be devoted to parking. New city centre buildings need to have an approved parking plan before receiving an occupancy permit
>> Extremely high parking fees and limited parking has dampened car ownership phenomenally in one of the richest cities of the world, New York, bringing it in the range of European cities
>> Public parking fee was increased in Bogota, Colombia, and private companies were allowed to charge as much in parking fees as they wanted. This created additional revenue, which was dedicated to road maintenance and public transport