Parking Reform Made Easy

Excessive and inefficient parking requirements in zoning ordinances have led to the overbuilding and underutilization of parking spaces, contributing to sprawling developments and wasted land. Localities should reform parking requirements by examining local planning characteristics, future trends, and shared parking opportunities, and by eliminating minimum parking requirements to promotes more efficient land usage. Parking reform is crucial for achieving broader transportation, land use, and environmental goals at federal, state, and regional levels. A 12-step toolkit is proposed to guide planners in making reasoned decisions about parking requirements, emphasizing incremental changes and pilot projects to build support for comprehensive reform.