By encouraging a shift to transit, cycling, or walking, cities can reduce CO2 emissions and air pollution, increase public transit ridership, and enjoy safer and more livable urban environments, with less time wasted sitting in traffic.
Parking minimums, which are common policy in cities around the world, require developers to build large amounts of parking regardless of the market demand or transit accessibility. This results in cities ceding huge amounts of space for parking cars, at the expense of much bigger needs, such as housing, public spaces, and cycling and walking infrastructure. The development and enactment of progressive parking policies and pricing schemes has emerged as an important component in the fight against unsustainable urban development. One major aspect of the TOD Standard, developed by ITDP, is parking reform. Through adequate parking fees and reduction in the overall supply of parking creates incentives for the use of public transport, walking, and cycling. This includes pricing on-street parking to manage demand, reducing space for motor vehicle traffic and parking to less than 12% of the total land area, and importantly replacing parking minimums with maximums.