The parking reform movement has a major new feather in its cap: the Toronto City Council has this week adopted sweeping changes to the parking requirements of the city's zoning bylaws.
The Toronto City Council this week adopted Zoning Bylaw Amendments that will remove most minimum parking requirements for new developments, according to a press release published by the city of Toronto. Parking maximums have also been added.
The city reports that the changes to the city's parking requirements align with goals set by its climate action strategy, TransformTO, approved in 2017, and the Provincial Policy Statement and the Growth Plan, adopted in 2019.
An article by Erin Nicole Davis for Storeys provides more details about the expected impact of the drastic parking reforms adopted by the fourth-most-populous city in North America.
Part of the reasoning behind the reforms is a pattern of overbuilt parking in new residential developments. According to Davis, "The Residential Construction Council of Ontario (RESCON) says data shows that in new condo projects, an average of 33% of parking stalls were left unsold. One builder, according to RESCON, had 90% still available for sale as a building neared construction."
RESCON also estimates that the price of building a parking spot has increased dramatically in recent years—from $80,000 to $165,000 in three years.
Planetizen shared news that Toronto was heading toward a historic moment in parking reform in November, but Toronto announced the potential for parking reforms [paywall] back in February.
Toronto becomes the latest city to roll back parking requirements in 2021, joining San Diego, Boston, Denver, Minneapolis, and Berkeley—although Toronto's reforms are far more universal than many, but not all, of the cities on that list. Planners in Raleigh, St. Paul, and Dallas are also working on parking reforms, and could have legislation for approval relatively soon.
There's also a crowd sourced map of all the cities that have adopted parking reforms.
FULL STORY: Toronto Removes Parking Minimums for New Residential Developments
Berkeley to Remove Parking Requirements for Residential Properties
Berkeley is the second city in Northern California to approve landmark zoning reforms so far in 2021.
Major Parking Reform Effort Moving Forward in San Diego
Civic San Diego and San Diego planning commissioners approved new parking standards that would eliminate minimums and set maximums of one space per multifamily unit. Those reforms and more must still be approved by the City Council.
Richmond Weighing How to End Parking Requirements
A series of town hall meetings will allow the public a chance to give feedback about zoning changes in Richmond, Virginia that would include the end of parking requirements.
Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
Current state law allows — but doesn’t require — cities to permit accessory dwelling units in single-family residential neighborhoods.
Manufactured Crisis: Losing the Nation’s Largest Source of Unsubsidized Affordable Housing
Manufactured housing communities have long been an affordable housing option for millions of people living in the U.S., but that affordability is disappearing rapidly. How did we get here?
HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
The agency will identify federally owned parcels appropriate for housing development and streamline the regulatory process to lease or transfer land to housing authorities and nonprofit developers.
Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
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