Reading: Parking Management for Smart Growth by Richard W. Willson

Parking management is a popular topic, I have numerous books on the subject. Now I have one more: Parking Management for Smart Growth by Richard W. Willson:

The average parking space requires approximately 300 square feet of asphalt. That’s the size of a studio apartment in New York or enough room to hold 10 bicycles. Space devoted to parking in growing urban and suburban areas is highly contested—not only from other uses from housing to parklets, but between drivers who feel entitled to easy access. Without parking management, parking is a free-for-all—a competitive sport—with arbitrary winners and losers. Historically drivers have been the overall winners in having free or low-cost parking, while an oversupply of parking has created a hostile environment for pedestrians.

In the last 50 years, parking management has grown from a minor aspect of local policy and regulation to a central position in the provision of transportation access. The higher densities, tight land supplies, mixed land uses, environmental and social concerns, and alternative transportation modes of Smart Growth demand a different approach—actively managed parking.

This book offers a set of tools and a method for strategic parking management so that communities can better use parking resources and avoid overbuilding parking. It explores new opportunities for making the most from every parking space in a sharing economy and taking advantage of new digital parking tools to increase user interaction and satisfaction. Examples are provided of successful approaches for parking management—from Pasadena to London. At its essence, the book provides a path forward for strategic parking management in a new era of tighter parking supplies.

To see the topics covered, here’s the contents:

1. Introduction: What is a Parking Space Worth?
   Parking as a Contested Space
   Problems of Unmanaged Parking
   Understanding Parking Behavior
   Strategic Parking Management
   Key Terms
   Map of the Book
2. Parking Management Techniques
   Origins of Parking Management
   Understanding and Organizing Parking Management Methods
   Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Parking Management
   Parking Management Gone Wrong
   Conclusion
3. Creating a Parking Management Strategy
   Planning and Strategy in Parking Management
   Parking Management Stakeholders
   Process for Developing a Parking Management Strategy
   Process Pays
4. Managing an Integrated Parking Supply (Rick Williams)
   Management Principles
   Organizational Structure: Administration and Management
   Defining the Role of On-Street Parking
   Relationship of On- and Off-Street Parking Assets
   Rate Setting Policy and Protocols
   Measuring Performance
   Identifying and Communicating the Integrated Parking System
   New Technologies
   Financial Analysis and Management
   Conclusion
5. Best Practice Strategies
   Best Practice: Individual Measures
   Best Practice: Integrated Strategies
   Global Perspective
   Case Study Conclusions
6. Implementing Strategic Parking Management
   Politics and Community Participation
   Technical Challenges
   Greening Parking Operations
   Parking Enforcement
   Conclusions on Implementation
7. Parking Management for Smart Growth
   A Paradigm Shift
   Why Not Rely on Pricing Alone?
   A Broader Vision for Strategic Parking Management
   It’s Time
   References
   Index

I’m looking forward to diving into some of these topics. The book came out last month, you can read an excerpt or order from Left Bank Books.

— Steve Patterson

Readers: New Building Should Replace Condemned Parking Garage

No surprise, but most who voted in the Sunday Poll favored an occupied building to replace a condemned parking garage downtown:

Q: The parking garage at Tucker & Locust, built in 1967, was condemned a few months ago. What should be the long-term outcome? (PICK UP TO 2)

1. Raze for new building w/zero parking 22 [34.92%]
2. Raze for new building w/some parking 21 [33.33%]
3. Renovation of structure, reopen garage 6 [9.52%]
4. Raze for new parking garage 5 [7.94%]
5. Unsure/no opinion 3 [4.76%]
6. Other: 3 [4.76%]
   1. Apartments, parking, ground level retail.
   2. Restaurant
   3. Traditional incremental urbanism
7. Raze for surface parking lot 2 [3.17%]
8. Nothing, leave as is 1 [1.59%]
9. Raze for open space 0 [0%]

I was very happy nobody voted for “Raze for open space”, because we’ve got more open space than we need. I have to wonder about the person who voted that leaving a condemned parking garage is the best long-term outcome. Really!?!

Even in the short-term I’d oppose a surface parking lot. If built properly, it would likely stick around until fully depreciated — which isn’t short-term. We need to build on many of our existing surface lots to reduce holes in our urban fabric. A case could be made for a new parking garage on the site. At this point I’d give little chance the existing garage will be renovated — the repairs are just too costly.Without a doubt, a new building, with or without internal parking, is ideal.

The New Jersey-based entity that owns the condemned garage likely doesn’t care about what’s best for creating a more urban St. Louis, but I don’t care about their bottom line! In the Downtown Neighborhood Association’s Planning & Zoning Committee I’ll advocate for a position on this site that opposes just letting it sit or a surface parking lot, supports a building.

— Steve Patterson

Sunday Poll: What Should Be The Long-Term Outcome of the Condemned Parking Garage at Tucker & Locust?

On Tuesday I wrote about the condemned parking garage at Tucker & Locust, which led to discussion in the comments about what should/could happen. Perfect poll topic…

Please assume the list choices aren’t necessarily government imposed or funded, could be entirely private — you can wave a magic wand. You may pick two, one can be your own.

The answers above are presented in random order.

— Steve Patterson

Older Coin Parking Meters Now Accept Credit Cards, Smartphone Required

Eighty years ago today the very first parking meter was installed, in Oklahoma City of all places. For decades parking meters were entirely mechanical devoices, prone to mechanical failures.

But the meter has been changing as new technology allows. The City of St. Louis is in the process of replacing the digital coin-operated meters that were installed about 20 years ago.

In the meantime, the old meters have been updated to accept credit cards — sorta. Those of us with smartphones can set up an app to pay the parking fees with plastic. This convenience costs 35¢ 30 cents extra — the same convenience fee as the new meters & pay stations that are being installed.

Parking rates increased throughout the city at the start of the month, so those who like using coins will need more.

New electronic meters in the city will charge $1.50 an hour throughout most of the high-usage downtown and downtown west areas, up from the $1 an hour they were as of Tuesday. Lower-usage meters in the remainder of the city will rise to $1 from the previous 75 cents.

Penalties for failing to pay at meters also will go up. The previous $10 fee — which turned to $20 if it wasn’t paid within two weeks — now will start at $15 and rise to $30 if it’s paid late. However, fine recipients now will have three weeks to pay instead of two. (Post-Dispatch)

Old & new meters don’t accept bills — coins or plastic. For more information see the Treasurer’s new parking website: ParkLouie.com.

— Steve Patterson

Car Hit Planters & Scaffolding Outside Condemned Parking Garage

Early Monday morning a car hit planters & scaffolding on the Tucker sidewalk, at Locust.

A car crashed into the side of a downtown building just before 1:00 Monday morning near Tucker Boulevard and Locust Street.  (KMOV)

KMOV’s report says after inspection the building was “deemed safe.” More accurately, the car didn’t damage the building, but it was condemned months ago.

This scaffolding has now been in place for more than a year. All the work had been inside, but that stopped months ago.

Prior posts:

• December: Parking Garage Undergoing Time-Consuming Multi-Million Dollar Restoration; Businesses Closed, Jobs Lost
• March: Downtown’s Papa John’s Pizza To Reopen In Different Parking Garage
• April: Parking Garage Repairs Halted, Emergency Structural Condemnation Issued

The scaffolding was in place to prevent debris from falling to the public sidewalk below. With work stopped, I have to wonder how long it’ll remain in place? Is there a point where the city will force the owner &/or contractor to remove it from the pubic right-of-way?

— Steve Patterson