ABSTRACT
Parking is an integral element of land use development and transportation systems. Planned well, it supports mobility, economic vitality, and driver convenience. Planned poorly, parking creates automobile-dominated environments that are bad for the environment, undermine community livability, frustrate parkers, and are socially unfair. For years, parking experts and stakeholders have been rethinking how parking is supplied and managed, and parking planning has moved from a one-size-fits-all, standards approach to one in which it is an integral part of planning and policy, aligned with a community’s vision and goals. To determine the amounts, types, and layouts of parking needed to support an area, or whether it’s needed at all, many communities and institutions implement parking studies, of which there are a wide variety. Types of parking studies include supply/demand, parking efficiency studies, financial feasibility, and many more, all meant to ensure that parking is planned, designed, and financed in the most efficient and successful manner possible.
