MPO: Policies promote too much parking, environmental damage
PERRY BEEMAN Dec 10, 2015 | 8:40 pm
1 min read time
317 wordsAll Latest News, Economic Development, Transportation
In a new report, the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization makes the case that cities should change their policies to require fewer parking spaces and apartment complexes should charge for parking separate from rent.
As it stands, cities typically require a minimum number of parking spaces, MPO said in a report released this month. Instead, they should set a limit on parking spaces, the agency contended.
Why? Because the minimum requirements lead to too much parking, which takes up too much land and encourages driving, which is bad for the environment, the report said.
In the alternative, mixed-use developments could share parking spaces. If those were divided into separate projects, they would require more parking under current policies. That means more land is taken for parking, which promotes driving, a key source of greenhouse gases, the agency claimed.
“For example, in a situation where a development includes residential and
office use, the residential portion may require 15 spaces while the office may require 25 spaces. Taken individually the site would need to provide 40 spaces. However, dividing that number by using the shared parking factor reduces the number of required spaces to 29 spaces,” the agency wrote.
Studies of parking policies nationally show they are costing developers and business money unnecessarily, the report contends: “Studies of suburban business parks have found that, while the zoning codes often demand three to four parking spaces per 1,000 square feet of development or one space per employee, the actual average parking utilization rate is 2.2 spaces per 1,000 square feet. This equates to a 26 percent oversupply. Removing minimums would not ban new parking from being built; it would simply allow market forces to determine the necessary amount of parking, while saving businesses and developers money.”
The report also recommends that apartments charge for parking outside of rent, so that tenants can pay just for the parking they need. Read more
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