Build It and They Won't Come: The Parking Revolution

3 CM / LU Pending

The moderator of this workshop will act as the General Manager (GM) of a transit system with parking and other access challenges. The “GM” will explain that he is expected to build parking at suburban stations, but parking is a very expensive investment, and he has other reasons (including equity, environmental and financial sustainability, and public health) not to build parking. The panel of experts will answer questions that outline all the strategies available, particularly in light of AVs in our future. The GM will use the example of a parcel in a suburban city at the temporary terminus of a light rail line that is under construction. The transit agency and the City have an agreement to build 500 parking spaces in a garage adjacent to existing free transit parking and private commercial parking. The City is interested in building TOD on top of the transit garage, and the adjacent shopping center is interested in sharing the parking. The agency wants to price any new parking they build even if other adjacent parking is not priced. How can the agency use this opportunity to “right size” and appropriately design the parking in light of the future? How can the agency, City, and private property owners manage parking demand among the combined public and private owners when some of it is priced and some is not? We will discuss this dilemma, starting by asking ourselves what we know now, what we expect to see when AVs take over, and how we meet/manage current demand for parking while planning for a different future.