Effects of Parking Provision on Automobile Use in Cities: Inferring Causality
Type
Policy Brief or Report
Year
2016
Level
City or Town
State(s)
All States
Policy Areas
Environment & Natural Resources, Transportation & Mobility
Many cities include minimum parking requirements in their zoning codes and provide ample parking for public use. However, parking is costly to provide and encourages increased automobile use, which is linked to traffic congestion, environmental degradation, and negative health and safety impacts. This study analyzed the relationship between increased parking and increases in automobile use. Results show that an increase in parking provision from 0.1 to 0.5 parking space per person was associated with an increase in automobile mode share of roughly 30 percentage points; these findings warrant policies to restrict and reduce parking capacity in cities.