Parcomètres: Tremblay reprend le contrôle. Devant la fureur des commerçants du Plateau Mont-Royal, le maire Gérald Tremblay a reporté à une date ultérieure le transfert de la gestion des parcomètres aux arrondissements. Il contrecarre ainsi les plans du maire du Plateau, Luc Ferrandez, qui comptait sur sa nouvelle politique de stationnement pour récolter des revenus supplémentaires dès 2011. Le maire Tremblay a qualifié de «recul stratégique» la décision de son administration. S'il ne remet pas en question la volonté de la Ville de confier aux arrondissements la mainmise sur les parcomètres, il soutient que ce projet nécessitera une réflexion plus approfondie avant de se concrétiser. «L'idée derrière ce changement reposait sur un consensus qui, à la suite des déclarations et des gestes de certains élus, ne semble plus exister», a-t-il expliqué, en évoquant la stratégie de stationnement dévoilée par l'arrondissement du Plateau le 28 octobre dernier.
Les commerçants mitigés. The High Cost of Free Parking - Raise the Hammer. The High Cost of Free Parking Humble "free" parking is largely responsible for the catastrophic failures of postwar North American cities. By Ryan McGrealPublished April 14, 2005 Off-street parking requirements are a fertility drug for cars. — Donald Shoup, The High Cost of Free Parking There is no righteous ire like the ire of people who believe they deserve something for nothing. An UCLA professor in the Department of Urban Planning, Shoup dissects the economic, social, and environmental impacts of current parking regulations and proposes a new approach that can help free cities from the pernicious effects of auto dependency. Originally limited to the curbside, parking was destined to become a scarce resource.
Planners concluded that the solution was physical: create enough additional parking to offset the projected increase in demand. When planners calculate how many parking spaces to provide1, they assume parking is free. Parking Isn't Free There's just one problem: parking isn't free. New Evidence Links Sprawl to Parking Minimums. San Francisco » New Video Sim Bets San Franciscans Will *Heart* SFPark. In a refreshing turn, the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA), which runs Muni and manages the streets of San Francisco, has produced an informative and whimsical animated short explaining how their dynamic parking management pilot, SFPark, will work. Unlike the maddeningly obtuse SFMTA website, the video (and pretty much everything else about the SFPark.org website) uses a cute Sim-City aesthetic to explain an otherwise wonky parking policy. It's an interesting approach to take with complicated material, but I think the video does a great job of demonstrating how the system should work, and it does so in just under three minutes.
After covering this beat for over a year and a half, I also learned a few things. For instance, most people don't realize the cost of parking could come down if demand is anemic in a particular area, but I didn't realize the price could theoretically go as low as $.25/hour if the demand requires it. Donald Shoup. San Francisco » Newsom Christens New Mojo Cafe “Parklet,” Pledges More to Come. DPW Director Ed Reiskin, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi, and Mayor Gavin Newsom standing in what used to be two parking spaces. Photos: Matthew Roth With scores of people crowding the sidewalk and taking up one lane of traffic on Divisadero in front of Mojo Bicycle Cafe, Mayor Gavin Newsom, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi and city department heads heralded a new "parklet" sidewalk extension as a piece of a growing trend of re-purposing street space for people instead of cars.
The new trial parklet was built into the space formerly occupied by two parked vehicles, providing several hundred square feet of public space and benches, tables, planters and bike racks. "This is a change in philosophy and how we think of the public rights-of-way," said Department of Public Works Director Ed Reiskin, who noted that approximately 25 percent of the public space in San Francisco is taken up by streets. "This is part of a trend, this is not a one-off episode," Reiskin assured the crowd. » Free parking for non-residents to end in Plateau • Spacing Montreal. The newly elected Projet-Montréal borough council in Le Plateau-Mont-Royal have indicated that they plan to phase out free parking spaces in favour of charging non-resident drivers for the privilege.
Facing a 4 million dollar deficit with few options to increase revenue, the borough council has been experimenting with new approaches to increase revenue to make up for the budgetary shortfall caused mostly by the current economic slowdown and the near-record snowfalls of last winter. Public consultations will be held before any decisions are made. It is expected that 3 million dollars will be raised in new revenue annually. This, along with the decision not to truck away snow on weekends which will save the borough around 1.5 million dollars this winter, should make up for the red ink, and then some. The borough currently has 10 000 to 11 000 free parking spots, mostly on-street spaces in residential areas. Donald Shoup on San Francisco’s Groundbreaking Parking Meter Study.
By Matthew Roth If you're interested in the power of parking policy to reduce congestion and make streets more livable, the most exciting place to be right now is San Francisco. For the past year and a half, the city has pursued an innovative slate of policies designed to manage parking supply wisely and deftly, thanks in part to a federal grant from the Urban Partnership program -- the same pot of money that New York City could have accessed if Albany had passed congestion pricing last year. This Tuesday, the San Francisco MTA released a long-awaited parking meter study, which calls for increasing meter hours in commercial districts where parking occupancy rises above 85 percent and businesses are open late on weekdays and Sundays.
Afterward, Streetsblog called UCLA Professor Donald Shoup, author of The High Cost of Free Parking and arguably the world's foremost parking expert, and asked for his thoughts on the study. Donald Shoup: It's pathbreaking. It's also true in Washington, D.C.