Evaluation of Residential Parking Spots Sharing Effects Based on Practical Experience

Making residential parking spots available to the public has become popularized in recent years. The sharing of residential parking spots can promote the further use of parking space and enhance the utility of parking resources in urban metropolitan areas. However, little is known about the relationship between spots’ physical or temporal factors and rental effects from practical experience. This study aims to evaluate the effects of residential parking spot sharing from both individual and social benefit perspectives. One-year real behavioral records concerning parking spots’ owners and borrowers were obtained, and the field survey of various parking spots’ physical characteristics was conducted. Two Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) models emphasizing the individual and societal points of view were adopted. Results revealed that the spots’ physical factors, including spot type, visibility, ease of parking, and distances to major surrounding buildings, along with owners’ sharing willingness and preferences, tend to pose significant influences on the rental effects from both individual and social benefit perspectives. Some differences were also discovered between the two models. For the individual model, owners’ sharing willingness was the dominant factor affecting the parking spots’ sharing effects, while for the social model, parking spots’ physical characteristics appear to be more important in determining the sharing effects. Based on these findings, suggestions were discussed to promote residential parking spot sharing and increase the benefits of sharing to individuals and society.

Comparative Case Studies of Parking Reduction at Transit-Oriented Developments in the U.S.A.

This study addresses the question of parking supply and demand at transit-oriented developments (TODs) through comparative case studies of seven TODs in the U.S.A. As far as the authors can determine, this is one of the first studies to estimate peak parking generation rates for TODs. Developments are often characterized in relation to “D” variables—development density, land use diversity, urban design, destination accessibility and distance to transit. The seven TODs studied in this project are exemplary when it comes to the Ds. At the overall peak hour, just 51.2%–84.0% of parking spaces are filled. Because of limited use of shared parking, even these exemplary developments do not achieve their full potential. At the overall peak hour, parked cars would fill just 19.5%–69.4% of parking spaces if the developments were built to Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) standards. With one exception, peak parking demand is less than 60% of the parking supply guideline in the ITE Parking Generation manual. A sixth D, demand management (parking management), is mixed at the TODs studied. For one thing, there is a dearth of shared parking, though opportunities abound. Another area in which parking policies are not always smart is in bundled residential parking. At some TODs, a parking space/permit comes with each apartment whether the renters want it and use it or not. Such parking is effectively free. A third area in which parking policies are not always smart is in free commercial parking, the counterpart of bundled residential parking.