Strengthening Linkages between Transportation Demand Management and Traffic Management

Context 7. Managing Smart Parking and Considering Local Traffic Management

Parking is often considered separately from traffic flow, transportation choices, and mobility. However, the management of parking can impact traveler choice in significant ways. Dynamic parking information, dynamic parking pricing, and dynamic parking management can influence travel choices before and during a trip.

Dynamic parking information, both real time and predictive availability, can influence travel choices. In San Francisco, CA, real-time parking information is coupled with traffic conditions to offer commuters in the US 101 corridor an en-route choice to either continue driving or divert to a transit station with available parking. The Messaging Infrastructure for Travel Time Estimates to a Network of Signs project, undertaken by the Partners for Advanced Transportation Technology program at the University of California, Berkeley, implemented variable message signs (VMSs) on US 101 in San Mateo County. The VMSs provide information about travel times to downtown San Francisco and compare those travel times to parking and diverting to transit, namely Caltrain services (figure 27). NYSDOT has provided real-time parking availability updates during major transit disruptions where a transit agency established temporary shuttle service from certain park-and-ride lots and NYSDOT wanted to encourage use of those lots.

Figure 27. Photo of a variable message sign displaying: FWY-SJ 52 minutes, Caltrain 41 minutes, train at 5:30.

Figure 27. Photo. Variable message sign comparing driving the route with parking and taking transit.⁽⁵³⁾
(Source: California Department of Transportation).

New York Department of Transportation Creates a Park-and-Ride Lot Map with Real-Time Space Availability

The New York State Department of Transportation (NYSDOT), during the Amtrak New York Pennsylvania Station emergency repair work in July and August 2017, worked closely with the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) to support the transit agencies' efforts to provide alternative transit services given the absence of certain rail lines between Long Island and Manhattan. MTA informed NYSDOT about which park-and-ride lots MTA would provide temporary shuttle service to, and NYSDOT created an interactive park-and-ride lot map that showed real-time counts of the available number of parking spaces at those lots and real-time notifications when lots became full (figure 28). The purpose of NYSDOT's communication was to help travelers understand their alternative transit options and mitigate the amount of shift to single-occupancy vehicle travel during the repair work period.

Figure 28. Screenshot of a map with symbols identifying carpool parking and express bus service stops.

Figure 28. Screenshot. A map of park-and-ride lots with a pop-up box showing the number of available parking spaces.⁽⁵⁴⁾
(Sources Used: NYSDOT).

Many new parking applications for handheld devices provide real-time parking availability information. In fact, Google Maps now shows predicted parking availability for 25 metro areas.⁽⁵⁵⁾ In the routing feature, Google Maps shows a green (available), yellow (limited), or red (constrained) P icon to indicate availability associated with the destination.

Parking pricing and information can help manage scarce parking in high demand areas. Parking managers can set a parking price that is low enough to keep most spaces filled but high enough that the price deters enough people from parking to provide an open space to those who need to park and are willing to pay the cost. This strategy discourages people from driving around in search of an open space because enough spaces are open to those people who are willing to pay the price; people who are unwilling to pay the cost will not continue to search for an open space.

The Seattle Department of Transportation installed smart parking meters for performance-based parking and an electronic parking guidance system. This, coupled with the e-Park Program, which provides real-time parking space availability for various parking garages in downtown Seattle, is designed to reduce cruising for on-street parking and help people find parking.

The case study in this chapter shows how San Francisco, CA's parking pricing project is managing parking, but many other dynamic parking information applications help users plan and carry out their trip choices. Looking forward, with the advent of smart parking meters that can provide real-time information, there is an opportunity to explore how the information displayed by the smart meters can be used as another tool in the toolbox to manage the transportation system and provide travel choices.

Active parking management has been included as part of the strategy response package when dealing with the impacts from construction activities, major transit disruptions, or even special events (some have been mentioned in case studies under other contexts in this compendium).

Case 16. SFPARK: Managing Parking Demand Via Pricing (San Francisco, CA)

Managing on-street parking to increase availability and improve bus operations

Historically, cities have used time-limited parking meters to increase turnover, discourage all-day parking, and track parking duration to facilitate enforcement of time limits. SFMTA sought to address other public policy objectives through parking management. One specific objective was to help San Francisco Municipal Railway (MUNI), San Francisco, CA's public transportation system, realize more reliable bus schedule adherence by addressing the traffic speed or lane blockage impedances created by cars cruising for parking or double parking. SFMTA operates transit services including MUNI buses and manages parking in San Francisco. Therefore, demand-responsive pricing was viewed as a way the agency could improve parking availability while also reducing congestion.⁽⁵⁶⁾

Demand-Responsive Pricing Strategy:

Increase hourly rates by $0.25 when occupancy levels exceed 80 percent.
Decrease hourly rates by $0.25–$0.50 when occupancy levels dip below 60 percent.

As part of a U.S. Department of Transportation urban partnership agreement, SFMTA implemented a two-year (2011–2013) pilot program aimed at managing parking availability via pricing in seven pilot areas. SFMTA described the goal as "to achieve a minimum level of availability so that it was easy to find a parking space most of the time on every block and that garages always have some open spaces available." This involved setting occupancy level targets at 60 to 80 percent.

While pricing was not fully dynamic (i.e., changing price on a real-time basis), SFMTA implemented demand-responsive pricing in those seven pilot areas, which entailed periodic changes to parking rates to improve both availability (open spaces when needed) and utilization (so space would not sit unused for too long). The project involved a comprehensive public information program and tools for users, including a website, mobile app, and new signage. Parking information was integrated into the regional 511 system as a partnership of the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and SFpark.

Some of the positive outcomes of SFMTA's SFpark pilot project evaluation are as follows:

Parking availability improved—target parking occupancy (60–80 percent) was achieved 30 percent more often.
Parking was easier to find—parking search time decreased by 43 percent. Double parking decreased by 22 percent.
As a result of reduced parking search activity, vehicle miles traveled (VMT) decreased by 30 percent.
Bus speeds improved by 2.3 percent in areas that reduced double parking.

Because of the success of the SFpark pilot project, SFMTA implemented the program citywide in 2018.

Strategies Providing Destination Choice

This demand-responsive pricing strategy can help travelers decide if they want to end their trip at a parking space that costs a certain amount of money or if they prefer to end their trip in another location, perhaps a nearby parking space that costs less to park in.

Strategies Providing Time Choice

The SFpark project lists the parking cost for all time segments at a specific parking location. This allows drivers to make decisions about their travel time and, if possible, to park when the parking costs are cheaper, meaning when there is more parking availability. By informing the public ahead of time of the parking costs, this strategy can help a traveler decide the best time to travel.

Strategies Providing Mode Choice

Providing the pricing information on the website and mobile app gives people a chance to see the pricing information before they commit to driving. The SFpark project also aimed to help the reliability of bus travel by reducing cruising and double parking by travelers seeking parking spaces.

Success Supportive of the Integration of Transportation Demand Management and Traffic Management

While the parking project did not induce a discernable mode shift, reducing parking search time led to a reduction in vehicle miles traveled. Pricing worked to improve traffic conditions and mobility by providing drivers with available parking when and where they wanted. While revenue from parking increased slightly, this was not an objective of the project.

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