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.
What ‘The Brutalist’ Teaches Us About Modern Cities
How architecture and urban landscapes reflect the trauma and dysfunction of the post-war experience.
‘Complete Streets’ Webpage Deleted in Federal Purge
Basic resources and information on building bike lanes and sidewalks, formerly housed on the government’s Complete Streets website, are now gone.
The VW Bus is Back — Now as an Electric Minivan
Volkswagen’s ID. Buzz reimagines its iconic Bus as a fully electric minivan, blending retro design with modern technology, a 231-mile range, and practical versatility to offer a stylish yet functional EV for the future.
Seattle Recorded Zero Bike Deaths in 2024, per Early Data
The city halved the number of pedestrian deaths compared to 2021.
Study: London ULEZ Rapidly Cleaning up Air Pollution
Expanding the city’s ultra low-emission zone has resulted in dramatic drops in particle emissions in inner and outer London.
Spring Spectacle: Thousands of Tulips Bloom at One of LA’s Top Gardens
Descanso Gardens, one of Los Angeles County’s most beloved botanical destinations, is welcoming spring with 35,000 tulips in bloom, creating a breathtaking seasonal display expected to peak in late March.
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.
City of Albany
UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research