A new on-street parking regime comes with a royal purple color scheme in a ritzy suburb in the San Francisco Bay Area.
San Francisco suburb Walnut Creek "now has a whole zone dedicated to long-term parking that didn’t exist before," reports Sam Richards.
"Approximately 1,000 spaces in an area bounded by Civic Drive on the east and south, Parkside Drive on the north and California Boulevard (and a short stretch of Main Street) on the west are now long-term spaces, at $1 an hour all day," according to Richards. A recent parking study found those spaces have been falling below the desired levels of occupancy, so the city is making changes to "even out the parking demand."
But one unique angle on this common story of a city tinkering with its on-street parking regulations, is the color the city is choosing to call attention to the new long-term parking spots. "A number of pole colors were considered for the newly christened long-term parking meters north of the downtown core area before city officials settled on purple," explains Richards.
FULL STORY: Parking by the purple: A long-term Walnut Creek solution
Watch: How to Remove Thousands of Parking Spaces
What the city of Amsterdam will gain by removing cars from on-street parking space.
Want Less Traffic and More Parking? Start Charging for It!
Cities often fail to effectively manage parking—and the public pays for it.
Santa Barbara Renews Parklet Program
The city updated its pandemic-era on-street dining program with new regulations that limit the locations and design of parklets.
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.
Why Should We Subsidize Public Transportation?
Many public transit agencies face financial stress due to rising costs, declining fare revenue, and declining subsidies. Transit advocates must provide a strong business case for increasing public transit funding.
Paris Bike Boom Leads to Steep Drop in Air Pollution
The French city’s air quality has improved dramatically in the past 20 years, coinciding with a growth in cycling.
Why Housing Costs More to Build in California Than in Texas
Hard costs like labor and materials combined with ‘soft’ costs such as permitting make building in the San Francisco Bay Area almost three times as costly as in Texas cities.
San Diego County Sees a Rise in Urban Coyotes
San Diego County experiences a rise in urban coyotes, as sightings become prevalent throughout its urban neighbourhoods and surrounding areas.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Smith Gee Studio
Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization
City of Santa Clarita
Institute for Housing and Urban Development Studies (IHS)
City of Grandview
Harvard GSD Executive Education
Toledo-Lucas County Plan Commissions
Salt Lake City
NYU Wagner Graduate School of Public Service