Until we reach that great green future where cars run on sustainable fuels and city roads are open to more people-powered vehicles, we need solutions for traffic and congestion. Even with changes in city planning and road layout, the fact remains that cities attract cars, and those cars need room to drive and park. While having more parking garages and lots may seem like the obvious solution, in truth, it's only a temporary fix. American cities need to figure out where to put all the cars before it’s too late and congestion turns into gridlock. Here are several solutions to downtown parking congestion for growing cities.
No One Should Park for Free
Free parking isn’t free. Somewhere the ability to park for free on the street or in a lot translates into costs elsewhere. This can mean the cost of slower traffic because curbside parking takes up space. It can also mean the cost of valuable real estate wasted on parking cars. Implementing parking meters or paid parking lots can encourage drivers to leave their vehicles at home and use public transportation. It can make parking on the street a short-term event as well, keeping vehicles moving along. Paid parking also allows for the unpleasant but necessary, and frankly profitable, practice of parking tickets. Make parking an undesirable expense and there’ll be fewer cars overall clogging up the lanes.
Eliminate Curbside Parking
Some cities have seen immediate improvements in traffic flow and parking issues by outlawing parking on main thoroughfares. Street and curb space can be freed up by imposing penalties and towing orders on those who park there. Freeing up a main street can do wonders for side street congestion, in addition to making a town’s main drag look cleaner and more impressive overall. Of course, the cars that do show up need to go somewhere, so it might be time to rethink your downtown layout, adding alternatives like automated parking facilities with pit puzzle parking systems and other more efficient means of vehicle storage. Here’s more detail on that below.
Automated Parking Facility
Truthfully, there’s sometimes a case to be made for more parking spaces, but cities need to build smarter, not wider. Namely, traditional parking lots and parking garages are a terrific waste of space and can cause slower traffic and greater congestion in the surrounding area. Automated parking facilities, on the other hand, like pit puzzle parking systems, take up far less space. They also keep traffic moving at a steady clip since machines do all the work of moving, stacking, and retrieving vehicles. Such facilities also lead to a less cluttered skyline as well.
Pedestrian Zones
Pedestrian zones are created by making an area car-free, thereby setting up a place where pedestrians can walk, hang out, and go about their daily business. This can be done permanently or temporarily, closing off the area to traffic via gates, large planters, and other barriers. Not only does this enhance the look of an area but it also offers a desirable place for people to shop, eat and drink, enjoy events, and more. Pedestrian zones can divert traffic away from busy areas, thereby preventing accidents that can hurt or even kill people while also snarling up traffic.
Encourage Remote Parking
Want to free up space downtown? Encourage the creation and use of remote parking. Visitors will park in a place on the outskirts of the city’s busiest area if given encouragement. For instance, free parking is always a plus, though not charging a reasonable rate is a missed opportunity for income. Offering a shuttle service is another desirable, efficient, and greener way to get visitors to spend money downtown without blocking the streets. Remote parking is also a wonderful way to make better of land that’s otherwise unusable, unprofitable, or abandoned. Traffic density toward the city center is also diminished.
Reuse and Refurbish
Another way to increase parking is to look at what exists and re-evaluate it. Some parking lots, garages, and other facilities make poor use of the space they have. Smaller cars in general can mean reducing the size of individual spaces in older garages. More motorcycle and other powered cycle spaces can also be set up and made available to their riders. Car stackers can be installed as well, creating two, three, or even more places to park within the same area. Unused land around the facility can also be assessed and repaved, or better yet, equipped with more automated parking opportunities, such as pit puzzle parking systems.
Shared Parking
Shared parking is another alternative for ensuring land is used efficiently. If several local offices and multi-residential buildings offer parking lots and facilities to their tenants, but these spaces are left empty during specific times, that’s a wasted opportunity. Offering motivation and financial incentives to property owners to open their lots to visitors during certain times (morning and afternoon, or evenings when visitors tend to patronize local stores, restaurants, theaters, clubs, and so forth) can alleviate a lot of traffic and congestion during peak hours.
Bikes and Sharing Programs
One of the bigger solutions to downtown parking congestion for growing cities over the last few years has been bike-sharing programs. Cities provide bike rental services through which visitors and local citizens can rent bikes to see the sites, perform errands, and more. Of course, it helps ensure bicycling is safe in the city with bike lanes, places to lock up personal bicycles, and more accessible and bike-friendly amenities. Encouraging bike use is good for traffic patterns as well as the environment, and it encourages a healthier populace as well!
Park and Ride
This one involves cooperation with surrounding towns and suburbs connected to the downtown of a major metropolitan area. Some park and ride programs are already in place. Commuters leave their cars in lots beside railway or bus stations and ride the train or bus into the city. Traffic is reduced downtown, and commuters enjoy a more satisfying and leisurely trip to their destinations.
Traffic congestion is a big issue in growing cities, but fortunately, there’s always time to change the paradigm. Consider these tips and ideas when looking for a newer and less frustrating idea for your town.
