Downtown Parking Solutions

This section includes information on general downtown parking strategies of local governments as well as specific techniques for addressing downtown parking issues. Communities have adopted a variety of specific solutions, such as parking and business improvement areas, parking pricing strategies, shared parking policies, employer programs to encourage ridesharing, remote parking lots, and commuter financial incentives.

Contents

• Commuter Financial Incentives
• Fee-in-Lieu of Parking
• Parking Maximums
• Parking Pricing
• Shared Parking
• Remote Parking
• Other Innovative Solutions
• MRSC Related Pages
  • Downtown Parking Management
  • Parking and Business Improvement Areas
  • Ridesharing

Commuter Financial Incentives

• Commuter Financial Incentives, Victoria Transport Policy Institute

Fee-in-Lieu of Parking

Some cities allow developers to pay a fee in lieu of providing the parking spaces required by zoning ordinances, and use this revenue to finance public parking spaces to replace the private parking spaces the developers would have provided. This is particularly useful in downtown areas and can help to fund a central municipal parking facility. This mechanism can provide flexibility and efficiency in providing parking in downtown areas and other commercial districts to meet the needs of new development; however, it cannot be used to remedy existing parking shortfalls.

• In-Lieu of Required Parking, by Donald C. Shoup, Journal of Planning Education and Research, Vol. 18, January 1999
• Redmond Community Development Guide, Sec. 20D.130.10-040(2) - In-Lieu-of-Parking
• Langley Municipal Code, Sec. 18.22.130(N)(1)
• Friday Harbor Municipal Code, Sec. 17.68.050 (in Title 17)
• Sumner Municipal Code, Sec. 18.42.056(F). 

Parking and Business Improvement Areas, MRSC

Parking Management (Downtown), MRSC 

Parking Maximums

Limits on the number of parking spaces to be provided through off-street parking requirements can help to encourage transit use and other alternatives to single-occupant automobile use. Parking maximums are used in downtowns and commercial centers where land is scarce and expensive.

• Parking Maximums, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
• Bellevue Land Use Code, sec. 20.25A.050(B) - Minimum and maximum parking requirements for downtown
• Lacey Municipal Code, Table 16 T-13
• Redmond Community Development Guide, sec. 13D.130.10-20 (See Table 20D.130.10-020(2) Required Off-Street Parking, minimums and maximums for City Center)
• SeaTac Municipal Code, sec. 15.35.810 - Maximum parking requirements for city center
• Seattle Municipal Code, sec. 23.49.019(C) - Sets maximum parking limit of one space per 1,000 square feet of nonresidential use in downtown
• Portland, OR Zoning Code, Ch. 33.266 - Parking and Loading (See sec. 33.266.115 - Maximum Allowed Parking Spaces).

Parking Pricing

• Price Parking, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
• Parking Pricing, Direct Charges for Using Parking Facilities, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute.

Ridesharing, MRSC

Shared Parking

Shared parking is often encouraged in downtown areas but may be used in other locations as well.

• Shared Parking Sharing Parking Facilities among Multiple Users, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
• Shared Parking Handbook, Portland Metro, 1997 - Useful handbook with case studies and ideas for managing downtown parking
  • Appendix A: Model Shared Parking Ordinance
  • Appendix B - Model Shared User Agreement
• Pasadena, CA, Financing Shared Parking, excerpt from The High Cost of Free Parking, by Donald Shoup, APA, March 2005
• Gig Harbor Municipal Code, sec. 17.72.060 (in Title 17)
• Port Townsend Municipal Code, sec. 17.72.140 (in Title 17)
• Puyallup Municipal Code, sec. 20.55.050
• Renton Municipal Code, sec. 4-4-080(E)(3) (in Ch. 4).

Remote Parking

The provision of remote parking may work well for smaller communities, particularly resort communities. This approach has been used successfully in Jackson, Wyoming, Whistler, British Columbia, and Aspen, Colorado as well as in La Conner and Winthrop in Washington. In some locations, shuttle bus service is provided between the parking lots and downtown or ski resorts.

• Remote Parking and Park & Ride, TDM Encyclopedia, Victoria Transport Policy Institute
• Fargo, ND, Remote Lots with Shuttle Bus Service, (in Fargo Downtown Parking Study, by Barton-Aschman Associates, p.35)
• Norfolk, VA Shuttle Service.

Other Innovative Solutions

Donald Shoup advocates eliminating off-street requirements and charging market rates for parking.

• Pave paradise? No, ditch the parking lot, by Philip Langdon, New Urban News, April/May 2005 (a review of The High Cost of Free Parking, by Donald Shoup, APA, March 2005)
• Turning Small Change into Big Changes, Chapter by Douglas Kolozsvari and Donald Shoup, excerpt from The High Cost of Free Parking, by Donald Shoup, APA, March 2005.