Regulated parking zone for Blagnac

Summary

The introduction of a new tramline linking Blagnac to Toulouse was seen as an opportunity to implement measures to limit the number of private cars in the town centre, improve traffic circulation and promote the use of sustainable transport modes.

Implementing sustainable mobility

Blagnac, a town in the Toulouse suburbs, had 20,600 inhabitants in 1999. Since then it has grown rapidly, particularly in economic terms due to the presence of the Airbus factory. With the A380 motorway running close by it, Blagnac faces various transport issues inherent to suburban towns: major internal flows but also an intense transit flow along its main axis. In order to deal with these challenges, and in the framework of the urban mobility plan for the urban area of Toulouse, the town of Blagnac adopted its own local urban mobility plan in 2003, one of the main objectives of which was to achieve better parking management and develop infrastructure for alternative transport modes. Planned activities included the creation of the “Blue Area” and the distribution of a brochure promoting alternative modes of transport to the car, especially public transport and cycling.

Progress

Parking was totally free in Blagnac before MOBILIS, but difficult in the town centre. A survey carried out in 2005 showed that there were enough parking spaces in the centre in comparison to needs, but that:

• the spatial distribution of the parking spaces was not suitable (the centre was saturated and neighbouring areas were underused;
• most of the parking spaces were used for long-term parking (by employees and inhabitants) , to the disadvantage of visitors (shoppers and visitors to administration buildings); and
• the Saturday morning outdoor market led to saturation in the centre, while parking spaces remained free in the area surrounding the centre.

To improve the situation Blagnac Town Council chose to implement a “Blue Zone” in this area in which parking is free, but regulated and short term (maximum two hours). This was regarded as a better solution than a paid parking scheme. Before introducing the Blue Zone, the council ran an extensive information campaign via the local media, posters in public spaces and flyers on car windscreens introducing the new regulation and the possibility to obtain permit disks from the council. Unauthorised parking became an offence after March 1, 2006.

Outcomes

The Blue Zone scheme resulted in:

• better access to the centre for shoppers and service customers, as the turnover ratio increased by 2.7 percent, with 82 percent of vehicles parking for less than two hours;
• a decrease in long-term parking by 59 percent;
• the better distribution of parking demand; and
• a slight increase in the average occupancy rate, by 0.7 percent at town level, but a decrease by 7 percent (4 percent during peak hours) in the Blue Zone.

The measure highlighted the fact that communication with shopkeepers and the general public was a key element in ensuring successful implementation.