FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 19TH 2011
Media enquiries: Michael Kodransky 646 380 2346 mkodranksy@itdp.org Dani Simons 646-380-2348 dsimons@itdp.org or Stephanie Lotshaw 310 567 3484 slotshaw@itdp.org
EUROPEAN PARKING U-TURN REAPS REWARDS:
IDEAS FOR THE REST OF THE WORLD
European cities lead the way in influencing travel behavior through parking reforms
January 19, 2011, NYC: European cities are reaping the rewards of innovative parking policies, including revitalized town centers; big reductions in car use; drops in air pollution and rising quality of urban life, according to Europe’s Parking U-Turn: From Accommodation to Regulation, published today (January 19th) by the Institute for Transportation and Development Policy. Click here for a copy of the report.
The report examines European parking over the last half century, through the prism of ten European cities. It found:
• Parking is increasingly linked to public transport. Amsterdam, Paris, Zurich and Strasbourg limit how much parking is allowed in new developments based on how far it is to walk to a bus, tram or metro stop. Zurich has made significant investments in new tram and bus lines while making parking more expensive and less convenient. As a result, between 2000 and 2005, the share of public transit use went up by 7%, while the share of cars in traffic declined by 6%.
• European cities are ahead of the rest of the world in charging rational prices for on-street parking. In Paris, the on-street parking supply has been reduced by more than 9% since 2003, and of the remaining stock, 95% is paid parking. The result, along with other transport infrastructure improvements, has been a 13% decrease in driving.
• Parking reforms are becoming more popular than congestion charging. While London, Stockholm, and a few other European cities have managed to implement congestion charging, more are turning to parking. Parking caps have been set in Zurich and Hamburg’s business districts to freeze the existing supply, where access to public transport is easiest.
• Revenue gathered from parking tariffs is being invested to support other mobility needs. In Barcelona, 100% of revenue goes to operate Bicing—the city’s public bike system. Several boroughs in London use parking revenue to subsidize transit passes for seniors and the disabled, who ride public transit for free.
Walter Hook, Executive Director of ITDP, commented: “This report shows that European cities lead the world in using parking as a tool to revitalize their cities.”
The ten cities featured are Amsterdam, Antwerp, Barcelona, Copenhagen, London, Munich, Paris, Stockholm, Strasbourg and Zurich.
Ends
Note to editors: Please contact Marisa Sandahl at ITDP on + 1 212 629 8001 for hard copies of the report.
Europe’s Parking U-Turn: From Accommodation to Regulation was written by Michael Kodransky, Global Research Manager at ITDP, and Gabrielle Hermann, Consultant to ITDP, based on visits to all of the cities featured in this report over 2009 -2010.
Michael Kodransky will be discussing the report’s findings at a Transportation Research Board panel on Sunday, January 23rd from 1.30 to 4.30pm. Details are here https://pressamp.trb.org/conferenceinteractiveprogram/EventDetails.aspx?ID=20253&Email=