Park & Ride
Convenient Parking For Transit Users
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TDM
Encyclopedia
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
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Updated
August 27, 2007
This chapter describes how to develop Park & Ride facilities, such as parking lots at transit stations and stops, and how they can help support ridesharing and public transit use.
Park & Ride consists of parking facilities at transit stations, bus stops and highway onramps, particularly at the urban fringe, to facilitate Transit and Rideshare use. Some include Bicycle Parking. Parking is generally free or significantly less expensive than in urban centers.
Park & Ride facilities are usually implemented by regional transportation or transit agencies. In some cases, existing, underutilized parking (such as a mall parking lot) is designated for Park & Ride use. Patrols and lighting are sometimes provided to Address Security Concerns that users may have about leaving their vehicles at such a location.
Park & Ride facilities can increase transit and rideshare travel. Turnbull, Evans and Levinson (2004) provide detailed information on the effects of Park & Ride facilities on transportation systems. Morrall and Bolger (1996a & b) find that the supply of Park & Ride facilities has a major influence on the portion of downtown commute trips made by transit. Parkhurst (2000) finds that while Park & Ride facilities reduce urban traffic, they may increase urban fringe vehicle traffic as motorists detour to reach facilities or make additional trips, and in some cases shift from a walk-transit to a drive-transit trip. Actual impacts depend on the quality of Transit and Rideshare services, the existence of incentives such as HOV Priority and Commuter Financial Incentives, and geographic factors such as the distribution of jobs and employment.
Table 1 Travel Impact Summary
|
Objective |
Rating |
Comments |
|
Reduces total traffic. |
1 |
Reduces a portion of car
trips. |
|
Reduces peak period
traffic. |
2 |
Tends to reduce trips
during peak periods. |
|
Shifts peak to off-peak
periods. |
0 |
|
|
Shifts automobile travel to
alternative modes. |
3 |
Supports transit and
ridesharing. |
|
Improves access, reduces
the need for travel. |
0 |
|
|
Increased ridesharing. |
3 |
Supports ridesharing. |
|
Increased public transit. |
3 |
Supports transit use. |
|
Increased cycling. |
1 |
Supports cycling when bike
parking is provided. |
|
Increased walking. |
0 |
|
|
Increased Telework. |
0 |
|
|
Reduced freight traffic. |
0 |
|
Rating from 3 (very beneficial)
to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.
By encouraging shifts to transit and ridesharing, Park & Ride facilities reduce urban highway traffic congestion and worksite parking demand. These benefits can be significant since Park & Ride tends to be most effective where traffic congestion and parking problems are worst. However, automobile Park & Ride only provides modest reductions in local road traffic, pollution, energy use and consumer costs, since a local automobile trip is still made. Bicycle Park & Ride can provide greater economic and environmental benefits. Shopping centers adjacent to Park & Ride facilities tend to benefit from additional shopping by the commuters who park there (Wambalaba and Goodwill, 2004).
Costs are primarily associated with facility construction
and operation. Construction costs typically average several thousand dollars
per space, which is usually lower than the costs of providing parking at city
centers due to lower land values (Parking Evaluation).
Table 2 Benefit Summary
|
Objective |
Auto |
Bike |
Comments |
|
Congestion Reduction |
3 |
3 |
Reduced peak-period vehicle
travel. |
|
Road & Parking Savings |
1 |
3 |
Reduces road and parking
costs in urban centers. |
|
Consumer Savings |
1 |
3 |
Reduces travel expenses. |
|
Transport Choice |
1 |
2 |
Improves transit as a
travel choice. |
|
Road Safety |
1 |
2 |
Reduces automobile travel. |
|
Environmental Protection |
1 |
3 |
Reduces automobile travel. |
|
Efficient Land Use |
-1 |
2 |
May encourage urban
expansion. |
|
Community Livability |
1 |
3 |
Reduces automobile travel. |
Rating from 3 (very beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.
Although only a portion of travelers use Park & Ride facilities, all road users can benefit from reduced traffic congestion, crash risk and pollution. Park & Ride facilities tend to require government subsidies. Park & Ride is likely to be progressive with respect to income, since lower-income commuters rely more on public transit and ridesharing than people with higher incomes. Non-drivers can benefit from increased demand for transit and ridesharing, and from bike Park & Ride facilities. It tends to support basic mobility by improving public transit and ridesharing, but the effects may be small compared with other types of transit improvements.
Table 3 Equity Summary
|
Criteria |
Rating |
Comments |
|
Treats everybody equally. |
1 |
Only directly benefits
users, but other road users benefit indirectly. |
|
Individuals bear the costs
they impose. |
0 |
Requires subsidy, but these
tend to be smaller than other parking subsidies. |
|
Progressive with respect to
income. |
2 |
Lower-income people tend to
use transit and rideshare. |
|
Benefits transportation
disadvantaged. |
1 |
Can support cycling and
increased ridesharing. |
|
Improves basic mobility. |
1 |
Increases transit and
ridesharing. |
Rating from 3 (very
beneficial) to –3 (very harmful). A 0 indicates no impact or mixed impacts.
Park & Ride is most appropriate at the fringe of large
urban areas. It tends to be most effective as part of a comprehensive effort to
encourage transit and rideshare commuting.
Table 4 Application Summary
|
Geographic |
Rating |
Organization |
Rating |
|
Large urban region. |
3 |
Federal government. |
2 |
|
High-density, urban. |
3 |
State/provincial
government. |
3 |
|
Medium-density,
urban/suburban. |
3 |
Regional government. |
3 |
|
Town. |
2 |
Municipal/local government. |
2 |
|
Low-density, rural. |
2 |
Business Associations/TMA. |
2 |
|
Commercial center. |
2 |
Individual business. |
0 |
|
Residential neighborhood. |
2 |
Developer. |
1 |
|
Resort/recreation area. |
2 |
Neighborhood association. |
1 |
|
|
|
Campus. |
2 |
Ratings range from 0 (not
appropriate) to 3 (very appropriate).
Improved Transport Choice
Park & Ride supports and is supported by Public Transit Improvements, Ridesharing, HOV Facilities, Commute Trip Reduction, Cycling Improvements, and Parking Management.
Park & Ride facilities are usually provided by transportation or transit agencies. Their use may be promoted as part of TDM and Commute Trip Reduction programs.
Park & Ride facilities require funding, adequate transit service and rideshare programs, and suitable incentives. Security Concerns may limit use if Park & Ride lots are perceived as being vulnerable to theft, vandalism or assault.
· Park & Ride facilities
should be developed as part of an overall transit and rideshare improvement
program.
· Park & Ride facilities
should be located within view of businesses or homes, for the sake of security.
· Park & Ride facilities
should include bike storage lockers, or other secure bike storage if demand
exists.
·
Provide motorists
with convenient information on Park & Ride facility location, space
availability, train departures and downstream roadway conditions (Rodier and
Shaheen, 2006).
· Facilities should have
adequate lighting, landscaping, and other amenities (bus shelters, garbage
cans, etc.).
· It is usually best to have
several smaller Park & Ride facilities in different locations, rather than
one large one.
The
Space Coast Area Transit agency in
1.Reduced
on-site parking
2.Employer/Employee
tax credits
3.Improved
Employee Recruitment and Retention
4.Improved
Customer Service and Employee Morale
5.Improved
Corporate Image
6.Bottom-Line,
Profitability Goes Up!
Hospitals
in
The
Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments Commuter Connection Program
website a table listing the nearest town, the location and the number of spaces
for dozens of Park & Ride lots in the region.
|
Picture
an old western town. Saloon at the end of the street, noisy lunch hour, tiny
player-piano in the background, raucous laughter, when in through the batwing
doors comes a giant panda bear. The room is suddenly hushed in amazement. The
panda goes to the bar and says, “Gimme some food! NOW!” The
barkeep shakily hands over a plate of what ever he's got handy; the panda
takes it to a table and devours it messily. Then he gets up, and quick as a
wink turns to the nearest man and shoots him, then heads for the door. The
barkeep sputters, “Bbbbut Mmmr. Bear sir, why’d you shoot him? What’d he ever
do to you?” The
panda snarls derisively over his shoulder at the man, "I'm a panda you
dullard! Look it up!" and disappears as suddenly as he came. The
barkeep and several of his patrons go to the dictionary kept in the back
office and look up Panda Bear. They read the definition, and nod to each
other: “Panda Bear: a large mammal native to |
Joan Al-Kazily (1991), “Analysis of Park-and-Ride
CBF (2001), Building Healthier Neighborhoods with Metrorail: Rethinking Parking Policies, Chesapeake Bay Foundation (www.cbf.org/resources/pubs/rethinking_parking.pdf).
K.T. Analytics (1995), Parking Management Strategies: A Handbook For Implementation, Regional Transportation Authority (Chicago), 1995; available as FTA, TDM Status Report: Parking Supply Management and TDM Status Report: Parking Pricing, Federal Transit Administration (www.fta.dot.gov/library/planning/tdmstatus/tdm.htm).
John Morrall and
Dan Bolger (1996), “The Relationship Between Downtown Parking Supply and
Transit Use,” ITE Journal February 1996, pp. 32-36.
John Morrall and
Dan Bolger (1996), Park-and-Ride:
Kyriacos C. Mouskos, Neville Parker and Maria Boile
(2007), Technical Solutions to
Overcrowded Park and Ride Facilities, FHWA-NJ-2007-011, Bureau of
Research, New Jersey Department of Transportation ; at www.nj.gov/transportation/refdata/research/reports/FHWA-NJ-2007-011.pdf.
G. Parkhurst (2000), “Influence of Bus-Based Park and Ride Facilities on Users' Car Traffic,” Transport Policy, Vol. 7, No. 2, April 2000, pp. 159-172.
Caroline J. Rodier and Susan A. Shaheen (2006), Transit-Based Smart Parking: Early Field Test Results, Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting (www.trb.org); available at http://database.path.berkeley.edu/imr/papers/UCD-ITS-RR-05-15.pdf.
Nada D. Trout and
Gerald L. Ullman (1997), “A Special Event Park-and-Ride Shuttle Bus Success
Story,” ITE Journal, December 1997, pp. 38-43.
Katherine Turnbull, John Evans and Herbert Levinson (2004), Park-And-Ride/Pool: Traveler Response to Transport System Changes, Chapter 3; Report 95, Transit Cooperative Research Program; Transportation Research Board (www.trb.org); available at http://gulliver.trb.org/publications/tcrp/tcrp_rpt_95c11.pdf.
University of Nottingham, Park & Ride Bibliography,
UTM (2003), “Park-And-Ride Survey,” Urban Transportation Monitor, Vol. 17, No 11, Lawley Publications (www.lawleypublications.com), June 13, 2003.
Francis Wambalaba and Julie Goodwill (2004), Evaluation
of Shared
This
Encyclopedia is produced by the Victoria Transport Policy Institute to help
improve understanding of Transportation Demand Management. It is an ongoing
project. Please send us your comments and suggestions for improvement.
Victoria Transport Policy Institute
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