ABSTRACT
Parking Benefit Districts (PBDs) address the political friction that comes with a proposal for parking meters. Austin, Texas, created a successful PBD program in 2011, describing it as a way "to improve availability of on-street parking while promoting walking, cycling, and transit use." A three-part process first explores a pilot program, and then creates a citywide program for neighborhoods to opt into, and allowes the first official district to opt into the program. Through this process the high-demand pilot area eventually became the first PBD in Austin. The success of the pilot program supported the creation of a citywide PBD policy. The public interest in the infrastructure investment process and the opportunity to educate stakeholder groups emerged as added benefits of the pilot program. Though PBD program stakeholders were mostly from the original pilot area, the stakeholders and staff had made an active effort to create a program that would be appropriate and applicable anywhere in the city.
