Making Place With Parking Spaces

Presented by
Tom Brown + Dan Reed
Makeover Montgomery II
May 9, 2014

For 50+ years, weve embraced a

self-defeating response to
suburban competition:
1.
2.

Give parking away for free.

Provide enough to make everyone
happy.

Look at all the parking space (1952)

Credit: Washington Post

Never enough to compete

Credit: Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington

Downtowns strength is its experience

Left credit: Cyndy Elliott

Right credit: Silver Spring Historical Society

Too much parking undermines it

Left credit: Cyndy Elliott

Right credit: Smith Midland

free pizza
- Andres Duany

Downtown space is valuable

Credit: Holly Parker

Parking is expensive

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000
$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000
$20,000

$20,000

$20,000

$20,000
$20,000

Our first date was in a parking garage

11

Stop competing with parking

Montgomery County Planning Department

12

Start competing with place

13

Respond to the demand for urbanism

% of Millennials who want to live
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
In an urban setting

In a walkable
neighborhood

Near transit

Source: RCLCO
14

Credit: Holly Parker

Credit: Holly Parker

Focus on the urban experience

Put people where they can walk

Create places worth visiting

Downtown Silver Spring

Mode Split
Walk Bike
6% 1%
Work at
Carpool Home
6%
9%
Transit
43%

Drive
35%

Source: 2008-2012 ACS

Parking fees generate revenue for

downtown improvements
$45,000,000
$40,000,000
$35,000,000
$30,000,000
$25,000,000
$20,000,000
$15,000,000
$10,000,000
$5,000,000
$0
Annual Revenue

Source: MCDOT

Theres nowhere to park

Theres nowhere to park

Public Parking in MoCos Downtowns
12000
10000

58%
occupied

8000

72%
occupied

6000
4000
51%
occupied

2000
0
Silver Spring
Source: MCDOT

Bethesda

Wheaton

Our recommendations
1. reduce/eliminate parking
minimums
2. wayfinding
3. demand-based pricing
4. circulator
5. new uses for curbside space
6. better urban design
7. coordinate parking lot and
TDM programs
8. create complete streets

24

Reduce parking minimums + unbundle it

Better wayfinding

Credit: SFpark

Demand-based pricing

27

Circulators

Credit: BeyondDC
28

New uses for curbsides

Require good urban design

Show people where their moneys going

Credit: Flickr/Mike Linksvayer

Make complete streets

Read all about it

33

Further reading + listening

Onsite Parking:
The Scourge of America's Commercial Districts
http://www.planetizen.com/node/19246
http://www.planetizen.com/node/19228 (podcast)

Turning Small Change into Big Changes

http://shoup.bol.ucla.edu/SmallChange.pdf
http://www.planetizen.com/node/19197 (podcast)

Parking Management:
Strategies, Evaluation and Planning
http://www.vtpi.org/park_man.pdf
http://www.planetizen.com/node/19193 (podcast)

34

Tom Brown
49 W. 27th Street, Suite 10W
New York, NY 10001
(212) 242-2490
tbrown@nelsonnygaard.com

Dan Reed
1400 I Street NW, Suite 350
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 256-7238
dreed@nelsonnygaard.com

NELSON\NYGAARD CONSULTING ASSOCIATES 2014