Cars and Downtown

Peter Guest  

The characteristics of Downtown

       

•  The centre of social and economic activity, the city core or focus of activity in a city

•  It has mixed land uses (Commercial, retail, administrative, entertainment, government (capital cities),education, residential.

•  Dense high capacity, often multi-modal, PT networks •  High travel demand -Mass movement of people and goods, •  Congestion

Congestion is Not New, or Linked to Cars

       

• Lex Julia Municipalis banned wheeled traffic from Rome c 45 BC • Worshipful Company of Carmen formed in London in 1517 “For the Regulation of City Transport” • "The King's Highway is not to be used as a stable yard” Chief Justice Ellenborough 1812 • 1838 City of London licences carts and carriages to stand and ply for hire in licensed standing places “the world’s first controlled parking!” • The first parking meter 1930’s • Parking Restrictions (1950’s/60’s) • Paris Axe Rouge/London Red Routes 1980’s

Prohibiting Cars

       

Cities don’t prohibit cars; they : • Create pedestrian zones/ walking areas/bus, tram only streets. • Madrid - Barrio de las letras, Area de Prioridad Residencial • These have to be balanced with access needs of businesses, homes etc. • So either part time/all time service access

Pedestrian Streets

      York (UK) (largest pedestrian zone in Europe) • Major tourist destination • Major Retail Centre • Regional employment centre • Foot streets(part time access), • Park and Ride and City centre parking • Rail Hub • Developed large system of foot-streets linked to extensive P+R network    

Pedestrian + Public Transport

     Zagreb (Croatia) Trg Ban Jelačić or Main Square and environs • Fully pedestrianised • Tram access • Service access to square and surrounding streets    

Prohibiting Cars

       

Downtown Manhattan NYC (USA) • For security not environment • What happened to commerce - 100 shares index 2007- to date +15%      

Car free Downtown: Tourism

     Mdina Malta

Dubrovnik Croatia      

Cars and Commerce

London Retail Study • More parking does not necessarily mean greater commercial success. • Shopkeepers consistently overestimate the share of their customers coming by car, by up to 400%. In cities, the share of those accessing urban centres on foot or by public transport is much greater. • Car drivers spend more on a single trip; walkers and bus users spend more over a week or a month. In 2011, in London walkers spent £147 more per month than those travelling by car. Compared with 2004, spending by public transport users and walkers has risen; spending by car users and cyclists has decreased.

Cars and Commerce

London Congestion Charge • C 20% reduction in downtown car traffic but, • Car mode share about 15%, so • Only about 3% of trips affected and • More and better buses.  •  London  is  doing  just  fine    

Are Cars needed at all?

Some trips “need” cars and, for some trips, cars make financial sense: • Residents who want/need cars (note the slow growth of car clubs etc.) • The disabled and those with restricted mobility • High occupancy vehicles (economic sense for car users but 1 bus equals 3.5 cars in congestion terms) • Multi-destination trips • People carrying goods • Trips made outside transit operating hours • Trips made outside transit coverage or to places not linked by transit  

Tourism Tourists are “strangers” to the city who

• Do not know the way to their destination • Do not know where to park • Do not know how long they will be • Need to be able to easily “dump” the car

So car use can be challenging Car using tourists are better served by Park and Ride; the tourist is intercepted at the edge of the city. The city centre is access by fast bus or trains with fares that are less than city centre parking costs.  

How to provide parking Parking  Type   +     -­‐    

Side  street   •  Short  term  visits/loading  •  Residents  

•  Usually  not  good  for  all  day/commuter  parking  

Main  street   •  Serve  Frontage  Access  need/loading  

•  Obstruct  traffic  movement  on  main  routes.  •  Inhibit  bus  movements/disrupts  cycling  

Downtown  Municipal  off  street  

•  Allows  City  to  manage  supply  and  demand.  

•  Cost  of  building  •  Cost  of  maintaining  

Park  +  Ride   •  Serves/aFracts  tourists  •  Can  meet  long  stay  need  

•  OGen  not  directly  self-­‐funding  •   Perhaps  not  economically  viable      

Downtown  Private  

•  No  direct  cost  to  city.  •  No  financial  risk  to  city  •  Allows  business  to  use  

parking  to  help  sell  offer.  

•  City  planners  lose  control  of  this  element  of  the  transportaLon  system.  

•  Poor  to  zero  understanding  of  the  link  between    development  and  parking  need  

What to build ? Construc>on  types   +     -­‐    Surface  Car  park   •  Cheap/Quick  

•  Easy  to  recycle  land  •  Inefficient  land  use  •  Visually  poor  

Above  ground  (MSCP)  

•  Lower  construcLon  cost  •  Lower  energy  operaLng  costs  •  Independent  structure  •  Building  form  

•  Occupies  site  (inhibits  other  land  use)  •  Building  form      

Underground   •  Out  of  sight  •  Allows  overburden  

development,    •  greater  building  density  

•  Higher  construcLon  costs  •  Higher  operaLng  costs  •  ConflicLng  design  needs  above  and  below  

ground  •  Interdependent  structures  

Robo>c   •  Smaller  space  requirement.  •  May  be  only  feasible  soluLon  in  

some  locaLons  

•  LimitaLons  on  use  •  Higher  construcLon  cost  •  Higher  operaLng  cost  •  Proprietary  product  risk    

And Finally - Charging?

       

THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS FREE PARKING  

 So  the  quesLon  is  not  whether  or  not  to  charge  but  who  pays?  

Charging – How Much?

         

 Free  to  User  at  point  of  use  

 

 User  pays  subsidised  rate  

 User  pays  “cost”  

 User  pays  premium  

Third  party  pays  or  cost  is  loaded  on  to  associated  services  or  acLviLes  

“accidental”  subsidy  from  third  party  or  raLonal  decision  to  subsidise  to  aFract  traffic  

Cost  recovery  (+”profit/margin”)  with  no  financial  input  from  third  party  

OpportunisLc  Surcharge  to  recognise  supply/demand  imbalance,  to  targeted  to  deter  demand  

   

That’s All Folks !

Thank you for your attention

but remember

 

Cars can be fun too!