TDM is a “whole systems” approach to addressing parking and traffic that manages parking supply and demand together and values all forms of transportation. There is no exact formula, but a menu of options (or strategies). It is necessary to find the right mix for a specific district. This requires taking a phased approach to implementing changes, monitoring their effectiveness and being flexible enough to tweak them until the right combination is identified for a specific district.  A dedicated staff person is required to oversee such a program.

Common Components of TDM Plans

·                    Managing supply and demand together (price, shared lots, location)

·                    Taking a phased approach [the importance of tracking whether something is successful and being flexible enough to change it is a key component]

·                    Requires a dedicated staff person [to manage the program]

Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Strategies

Promote parking availability through pricing, not just increasing supply (change the paradigm from engineering to economic measures as well). Price parking for 15% availability.

Establish “park-once” districts, where drivers can park once and access all services necessary on foot (the parking areas can be slightly outside of business district, keeping the district more pedestrian friendly)

Manage on- and off-street parking together. Encourage or require shared parking lots (i.e. residential lots are often empty during the day and could be used by employees and patrons of retail)

Create parking benefit districts where the funds generated from parking are earmarked for improvements for the district where they were generated (i.e. streetscape improvements, bike/ped. safety measures, etc.).

Preserve Residential Parking Supply. Protect residential parking supply from non-resident long-term parkers; if the rate at meters (or parking structures) is too high, people will spill over into residential streets.

·        Create a residential parking permit program (In Oakland, the rate is $25/year, for three permits per household*)

·        Set 2- to 4-hour time limits for nonresidents

·        permitted, residential streets can also be metered

o       residents do not pay if they have parking permits

o       non-residents can park but only if they pay market price (if a parking benefits district is established, these funds will go back into the neighborhood)

• make each hour at meters get more expensive to discourage long term parking

*(ULTRA note: we could lobby to charge more and require funds to be directed back into our neighborhood via a parking benefits program)

Remove minimum parking space requirements in new developments and create maximums to discourage ownership of multiple cars.

Require TDM plans with new development. For example, developers could be required to:

• pay “in-lieu” fees: instead of paying for parking on site (the funds can then be used for shared parking structures)
• provide free transit passes for employees and residents
• provide car-sharing facilities
• unbundle parking costs from price of units
• Rewards people for not owning a car
• makes housing more affordable (for rentals too)

Enhance/develop alternate modes of transportation – e.g.  enhanced crosswalks, bike lockups, pedestrian and bike amenities.

Require Local Business and Employer Incentives. Employers could be required to:

o       Provide free or reduced-fare transit passes (leaving parking for shoppers rather than employees)

o       Make bike parking available for employees

Take advantage of technological advances. Examples: in West Palm Beach , Florida and Redwood City , they are experimenting with using cell phones to pay for parking meters. It is also possible to have the price of parking meters change throughout the course of the day.

Example of what some cities do:

(the cities with Xs in the left hand column are doing the minimum. Those on the left have more comprehensive TDM plans with components such as those described above)