Transit Oriented Development projects around the country are still facing suburban-style parking requirements.
Reporting from the Rail-Volution Conference in Dallas, Brandon Formby of The Dallas Morning News looks at how parking requirements for projects around mass transit stations have failed to keep pace with actual needs. Formby cites a study led by University of Utah city planning professor Reid Ewing, which looked at actual parking needs and trip counts for a site in Seattle.
Ewing said the development spurred about 37 percent of the vehicle trips per day that the Institute of Transportation Engineers estimated would occur. He said the guidelines estimated that residential parking demand would require 441 spaces during peak periods. [Ewing] said only 278 spaces would satisfy actual demand.
As has been noted in other studies and articles, the end result of providing more parking than needed is an increase in costs for new housing units in TOD projects. "Those costs are, of course, passed on to renters and buyers — even those without vehicles," said Minneapolis land-use manager Jason Wittenberg.
FULL STORY: Are parking requirements and regulations out of touch with today’s world?
Dallas Considers Nixing Parking Requirements
According to one local official, Dallas projects routinely build 20 to 30 percent more parking than they need, driving up the cost of housing and leading to unsustainable land use patterns.
Dallas Could Eliminate Parking Requirements
Supporters of the measure say it would contribute to economic development and make local development more affordable.
Dallas Council Memo Suggests Ending Parking Requirements
City staff were asked to evaluate the potential for reducing parking and eliminating or altering minimum parking requirements.
Alabama: Trump Terminates Settlements for Black Communities Harmed By Raw Sewage
Trump deemed the landmark civil rights agreement “illegal DEI and environmental justice policy.”
Study: Maui’s Plan to Convert Vacation Rentals to Long-Term Housing Could Cause Nearly $1 Billion Economic Loss
The plan would reduce visitor accommodation by 25% resulting in 1,900 jobs lost.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Waymo Gets Permission to Map SF’s Market Street
If allowed to operate on the traffic-restricted street, Waymo’s autonomous taxis would have a leg up over ride-hailing competitors — and counter the city’s efforts to grow bike and pedestrian on the thoroughfare.
Parklet Symposium Highlights the Success of Shared Spaces
Parklets got a boost during the Covid-19 pandemic, when the concept was translated to outdoor dining programs that offered restaurants a lifeline during the shutdown.
Federal Homelessness Agency Places Entire Staff on Leave
The U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness is the only federal agency dedicated to preventing and ending homelessness.
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