New publication explains how to improve parking standards for sustainable mobility

Park4SUMP Publication Cover

The focus of “Parking Standards as a steering instrument in urban and mobility planning” is how parking standards can be integrated as parking requirements for new developments. It examines new residential areas and mixed-use residential and commercial space districts, which increasingly serve as spaces for new urban development projects.

Parking standards stipulate how many parking spaces for cars and bicycles must be built. The number can be based on multiple factors; such as the residential units, floor area, or the size of offices, retail and workplaces, as well as the intended uses.

Most European countries have so-called ‘minimum standards’ for car parking. This means that developers can build more than their mandatory share if desired. However, high requirements for fixed minimum standards affect construction and maintenance costs and create land-use conflicts and severe environmental problems.

Fixed maximum standards, on the other hand, limit the number of parking spaces that can be built in order not prevent an oversupply of parking spaces. This is intended to reduce costs and counteract the increase in car ownership and thus, in the long term, car traffic.

Approximately 80% of all trips begin and end at the home; therefore the availability of domestic parking is particularly relevant to the choice of transportation mode.

In addition, parking - especially underground parking - is a cost factor in residential construction and parking requires space, which reduces valuable land space and room for stay and play. If one's own car is the closest means of transport to home, it is often the first choice. On top of this, it increases parking pressure at the destination as well, bey they workplaces, shopping centres or recreational facilities.

There are multiple good reasons to examine changing parking standards. The publication presents approaches used in various European countries, as well as good practice examples that highlight the importance of regulations on parking space construction as a steering instrument within urban and mobility planning.

This multitude of approaches and experiences displays the importance of parking requirements as steering tools within urban and transportation planning! The integration of modified parking standards and parking space policy into the Sustainable Mobility Plan (SUMP) is highly recommended.

Read and download the publication here, and visit Park4SUMP's website here.

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