Todd Litman’s Post

Suburban car parking charges have been given a punt 🚗💰 The papers for next week's long-term plan (LTP) meeting at council are now public. Officers have recommended that parking charges are not included in the 2024/25 year but they want a report back on how they could be implemented for the 2025/26 Annual Plan. Residents said a resounding no to the parking proposal with 77% of the 3,722 submissions recieved in opposition. In light of this it's disappointing not to see the proposal removed entirely from the LTP. The pushback wouldn't have happened without the overwhelming voice that residents in Tawa, Johnsonville and Newlands sent to council through consultation, so thank you. There are still major decisions to come next week around holding airport shares, waste collection and water investment. It's great having parking charges out of the way (at least for now) so we can focus on the big picture items that will really impact Wellingtonians over the next decade. The final LTP proposal and consultation report 👇 https://lnkd.in/gqYptCUc

Trying to navigate the #HousingStatement? Trying to work out what this all means for places in #Melbourne? Want to priortise good planning and design outcomes? with community buy-in? Then contact StreetCo - Urban Planning | Walkable Urbanism and get help. We have the experience, ideas and strategy to help organisations navigate the recent government announcements. This could be things such as: ✅ Understanding the changes and direction of travel of government ✅ Developing ideas and strategies to tackle it ✅ Understanding #housingcapacity ✅ Understanding infrastructure and service need ✅ Developing materials to advocate for what is needed. https://lnkd.in/gtfvMES7

Demand-based pricing parking policy can totally change the equation of two critical considerations of urban governance: parking and infrastructure funding. https://lnkd.in/gvPe8uSR

What Happened to Ontario’s Plan to Bring 'Massive Density' Around Transit? Earlier this year, there was significant anticipation around a major announcement that would have allowed intensified housing development along transit corridors in the Greater Toronto Area. The provincial government was scheduled to hold a news conference to unveil new legislation that would have allowed homebuilders to intensify development on land surrounding subway, light-rail and other transit stations. New insights from internal government documents reveal how close we were to seeing this policy in action and the potential impact it could have had on Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa, and beyond. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gMg8Rest #UrbanDevelopment #CityPlanning #GTAHousing #RealEstateNews #TheSlocombeGroup

What do you think, Jacksonville? Time to jump on board? I believe it is. I’m going to explore asking our City Council to eliminate parking requirements. My going in thoughts: * Mandated parking is not a health, safety, or welfare issue. * As for the functioning of the city, developers are motivated to provide sufficient parking for financial success. If they under-deliver parking, they won’t attract certain businesses or astute investors. Too much parking is not wanted, but converting excess parking into out-parcels may be an option. * Excess parking has a plethora of negative effects: life cycle costs to owner; impervious pavement increases storm water runoff and the heat island effect; opportunity cost of not using the land in a higher and better use; reduced walkability due to dispersed development pattern; increased auto dependence, traffic congestion, and pollution; and on and on. * Too little parking and customers will shift to off-peak periods (a good thing), use different modes for moving around (a really good thing), or shop elsewhere (maybe closer to home or work). Let’s have a conversation. I want to hear from cities with an established history living without parking requirements. Good planning, Brett

What Happened to Ontario’s Plan to Bring 'Massive Density' Around Transit? Earlier this year, there was significant anticipation around a major announcement that would have allowed intensified housing development along transit corridors in the Greater Toronto Area. The provincial government was scheduled to hold a news conference to unveil new legislation that would have allowed homebuilders to intensify development on land surrounding subway, light-rail and other transit stations. New insights from internal government documents reveal how close we were to seeing this policy in action and the potential impact it could have had on Toronto, Mississauga, Ottawa, and beyond. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/gjirdkKx #UrbanDevelopment #CityPlanning #GTAHousing #RealEstateNews #TheSlocombeGroup

As the Silvertown Tunnel nears its grand opening, expectations are high for its impact on London’s notorious traffic congestion. This modern marvel promises not only to alleviate the daily grind but also to enhance the overall connectivity between the north and south sides of the Thames. But with any major infrastructure, questions arise: Will it deliver on its promises, or could it lead to unforeseen complications in urban traffic dynamics? • Potential Benefits: Improved traffic flow, reduced congestion in critical areas, and quicker emergency response times. • Community Concerns: Potential for increased traffic in residential areas and environmental impacts. • Long-term Impact: Could the tunnel be a stepping stone to more comprehensive urban transportation solutions? Engage in the discussion about how the Silvertown Tunnel will shape the future of transport in London and beyond. Share your thoughts on whether this infrastructure will be a boon or a bane to London’s commuters. #SilvertownTunnel #LondonTraffic #InfrastructureDevelopment #UrbanPlanning

We did an exercise in my Walkable Cities course where we counted up the various types of parking parcels in downtown Phoenix. In the couple block radius we looked at, ~25% of the land was made up of parking! That's a LOT of wasted potential! There were lots (lol) of surface parking lots but also several parking garages, though there were some where parking was subsurface or encompassed by storefronts. I decided to take a look at a significantly smaller Elmira and noticed the same if not more of downtown Elmira was covered with surface parking lots! Even worse, after moving back to the area and getting to walk around again, so many are either completely empty most of the time or have a handful of cars in the entire lot at any given moment. And two underutilized parking structures, which probably haven't ever seen full capacity. These underutilized, heat-generating surfaces tear up our urban fabric and contribute to urban heat islands. The least we should be doing is breaking up these surfaces with green (trees, bioswales, rain gardens) and making them safe for pedestrians, and encouraging the use of our parking garages. The City built Gerard Way with essentially no nearby parking and on-street parking is hardly utilized off of the one block of Water + Main in downtown. Yet some businesses with 10 employees have full parking lots to themselves and no trespassing/private property signs. We should be sewing up the fabric by developing on these underutilized parcels to create a more walkable, compatible, and enjoyable downtown. With work planned for the garage, we should be working with downtown businesses and apartments to ensure the garage is being used all throughout the day, rather than tenants taking up on-street parking meant for businesses. And get rid of parking minimums while we're at it!

Consider the local neighborhood: proximity to busy areas or public transit can impact parking needs and property use. Read the full article: Does A Multiplex In Vancouver Need Parking? ▸ https://lttr.ai/ASiAJ #multiplex

$100k for a residential car park? That's easily in the cost range for basement parking in apartment buildings. That's an unreasonable impost on the many inner urban households that do not own a car. Minimum rates policies were cut and pasted from the USA in the mid C20. Most Australian cities still enforce this policy while comparable US cities have since dumped these regressive and redundant policies in favour of more mobility choice. Brisbane City Council are proposing to swap out mandatory 'minimum rates' for a more flexible 'maximum rates' option in inner suburbs. Such policies contribute to more affordable housing options in transit rich areas. I'm looking forward to an extension of the max rates policy to more suburbs, coupled with investment in more mobility choice funded by a smarter, fairer pricing of public parking. #rethinkingparking