Parking and the challenge of urban density

In this interview, Paul Barter elaborates on two approaches regarding motorists visiting a specific location. The first involves parking at each land use and then driving to the next, requiring self-sufficiency in parking for each site. However, an alternative approach gaining prominence in increasingly diverse and intensified urban settings is the ‘park once and leave it there’ strategy.

A ‘virtuous cycle’ of parking

This is a more innovative approach to grant developers greater freedom to achieve optimal outcomes for policy while also serving the public interest.

In the following video, Paul outlines a strategy for cities, regions, and property developers to initiate a ‘virtuous cycle’ of parking policy that promotes both sustainable transportation goals and thriving, commercially viable urban centres.

Nowhere to park?

This Conversation article by Elizabeth Taylor and Rebecca Clements on the issue of parking in Australian cities, highlights a shortage of parking in residential areas, despite significant amounts of parking space. They suggest this is a result of:

• outdated minimum parking requirements for new developments
• inefficiencies of conventional parking policies.

They suggest solutions such as:

• dynamic pricing
• unbundling parking from housing
• implementing precinct or neighbourhood parking structures.

Your task

After watching the video and reading the article, what strikes you as the most significant innovation to bring parking policy and transport sustainability into alignment?

Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments – there is no right or wrong answer here – and take some time to read and comment on the contributions of your peers.