Parking Management key to successful transportation system

When I left the Perimeter Transportation Coalition (PTC) to come work for Lanier Parking Solutions, many people asked how someone who worked so hard to promote alternative transportation could work for a parking company. I would say that I am a big advocate of paid parking, because it encourages people to think about the cost of driving trips, and as a result they may change their travel behavior (i.e biking, walking, transit, and carpooling). Ninety-nine percent of all U.S. driving trips end in free parking spaces, but when the economic and environmental consequences are considered, these parking spots are not free at all. Smarter parking management, which is what Lanier has touted for the past decade, will benefit consumers and businesses in time and money saved. This has now been confirmed by a recent study by Insitute for Transportation and Development Policy (TTDP).
"U.S. Parking Policies: An Overview of Management Strategies," co written by Professor Rachel Weinberger, John Kaehny, and Matthew Rufo, illustrates how parking management in most U.S. cities creates additional traffic and air pollution and feeds auto dependence. As long as parking is considered independently of transportation policy, parking demand and traffic will continue to increase in the form of excess auto trips, on-street parking shortages, and a decline in the overall pedestrian’s environment. This is not only true from a macro level (region and city) but also from a micro level (mixed use development and retail establishment). Traditional parking policy prioritizes private automobile use, undermining the use of public transit, walking, and bicycling as travel modes, spurring significantly higher household travel costs for all.
A balanced transportation system, with the automobile and parking being one component, is the end game. The parking policy of the past 30 years has been a huge impediment to creating such a system. But as the ITDP study indicates, there seems to be change in the air. Download the full report.

How to get around Vancouver during the Winter Games

As a transportation planner, I watch the Olympics from the perspective of how well the transportation system works as opposed to how well the athletes do. The Vancouver Olympic Games will be especially interesting to watch, since VANOC (Vancouver Olympic Committee) and the City of Vancouver have stayed true to a multi-modal transportation system that provides limited emphasis on the automobile while investing heavily in alternative transportation modes.

Although there will be additional parking available (managed by Lanier/Impark, biking, walking, and shuttles will play a greater role than ever before. Here are some key players to look for in the coming days.

Canada Line: If you have just landed at Vancouver International Airport (YVR), this is the cheapest and quickest option. There is a station right at the Airport, and a train will whisk you away into downtown Vancouver in a mere 20 minutes. Detailed trip planning here.

Olympic Line: Connecting Granville Island, a key entertainment center for the 2010 Winter Games, and the Olympic/Paralympic Village Vancouver, the Olympic Line Streetcar service will extend Vancouver’s regional transit network before and during the Games. More streetcar info here.

Trolley Buses, Expo and Millennium Line SkyTrains: The bus and SkyTrain network is quite extensive within the city of Vancouver. The farther east you go, the dicier the service becomes, especially for trolley buses. For more information on bus re-routes, consult the bus re-routes guide for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics.

Sea Bus: The Sea Bus passenger ferry runs from Waterfront Station in Downtown Vancouver and connects to the Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. A must-visit for anyone visiting Vancouver, with the views simply breathtaking from the water. More info here.

Taxi: Always a good option during these types of events.

Walking: Yes, good old fashioned walking may be the best way to explore Vancouver (especially with the mild winter weather they've had of late). It is an extremely pedestrian friendly city and one of the most walkable. If you are staying within the downtown core, rain or shine, you should walk to and from events (Pavilions, Ziptrek zipline etc...). Not only are there specific pedestrian corridors for the Olympics (Robson Street, Hamilton, Granville Street), you'll also see some of the most beautiful people on the continent.

Automobile: If you plan on driving into Vancouver and during the Winter Olympics, consult the 2010 transportation plan: Street plan and mapsOpening and Closing ceremony transportation guide

Here is a great article about getting to and around the Olympics in Vancouver.

Let the Games begin.

Park More and Drive Less

As a parking and transportation planner, I often have to explain how paid parking is a tool that encourages good behavior. This is especially true with on-street parking, where a fee encourages people to park more and drive less. By that I mean paid parking causes greater turnover of the spaces, resulting in an increase in the availability of spaces and the reduction of congestion-causing cruising.

Dr. Donald Shoup, professor of Urban Planning at UCLA, has written extensively about this in the "The High Cost of Free Parking," and eloquently illustrated the point during an interview with Mark Gorton of the Open Planning Project on Streetfilms. Although they use NYC as the backdrop, I believe the thesis holds true for large and small communities alike.

The electric car is coming!

Over the past year or so, I have heard a lot of talk about the next coming of electric cars. Automakers are rolling them out at car shows, and cities are building the infrastructure to support them. But I have yet to see a single electric car on the road. What is the deal? Are electric cars coming? From what I have heard and read, it appears as though they are coming, but slowly (see Electric Cars are Coming! and Top 10 electric cars coming to US in 2009/2010).

Every time you bring up the issue of electric cars, someone is bound to point out that plug-in electric cars are not the environmental solution that everyone thinks they are. This is true. For example, what do we do with dead batteries, and what about the power that will be needed when 50,000 of these are rolling on the streets? (see Plug-In Hybrids Could Require 160 New Power Plants By 2030 (Or None At All and Plug-In Hybrids Use Over 17 Times More Water Than Regular Cars, Researchers Say). Since such a large portion of US power generation comes from coal, the increasing use of plug-in hybrid and electric cars will require serious consideration of other energy sources (for an example, see How Solar Panels Could Power 90% of US Transportation).

My recommendation: Get yourself a plug-in hybrid as soon as they become available, and then put solar panels on your roof.

House of Cars:Innovation and the Parking Garage

When you think about the architecture of parking garages, the term "eyesore" often comes to mind. It has not always been this way, and it certainly does not always have to be.

A new exhibit House of Cars: Innovation and the Parking Garage at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. takes a closer look at parking structures past and future with a focus on their relationship between parking structures and the built environment.

"As soon as there were cars, there was a parking problem, and cities responded both by finding ways to fit cars into old structures – such as carriage houses – and inventing a new building type made specifically for automobile storage. As the parking garage's building type evolved, innovative engineers explored the best ways to lay out parking places and create structural systems to accommodate both cars and people. "

NPR also did an interesting story about it.

There is also an excellent companion exhibit that focuses on contemporary art in the parking garage. As a result, the exhibition includes a gallery devoted to the parking garage in art and the popular imagination.

Finally, if you can not make it to DC but want to learn more about the history of parking design and its relationship to the urban form check out the book, "The Parking Garage: Design and Evolution of a Modern Urban Form" by Shannon Sanders McDonald. It is published by the Urban Land Institute.

Dangerous by Design - Where does your city rank?

"Transportation for America," a not-for-profit that promotes sustainable transportation solutions, recently reported that over the past 15 years, 75,000 people in America have been killed while crossing or walking along our city streets. One might blame dangerous drivers or reckless pedestrains, but actually the study pins most of the blame on poor design.

"In fact, however, an overwhelming proportion (of deaths) share a similar factor: They occurred along roadways that were dangerous by design, streets that were engineered for speeding cars and made little or no provision for people on
foot, in wheelchairs or on a bicycle."

The study authors provide several design solutions including traffic calming measures, the "Safe Routes to School" programs and compact development. They also believe that in order to fix the problem, a larger piece of the transportation pie needs to go to pedestrian measures.

Check out the article, Dangerous by Design, and see where your city ranks. An excellent national resource for pedestrain issues includes America Walks, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that leads a national coalition of local advocacy groups dedicated to promoting walkable communities.

Introducing Lanier Event and Executive Solutions

I don't toot Lanier's horn often enough on this blog, but it has added some new services

which I think drivers and non-drivers alike can enjoy.

Lanier Parking Solutions now offers valet, shuttle, and luxury transportation to private consumers. These new services are invitations not only to park with Lanier, but to think of Lanier Parking Solutions for all of your transportation logistical needs. For information, see an on-site Lanier manager or call Ben Epstein at 770-880-7681.

Lanier Event Solutions delivers access to metro Atlanta’s best valet teams and special event parking management. Our valet teams bring a customized, personable and professional approach to events at private homes, restaurants, or special events.

The event valet team is a self-contained, value added program that can assist in achieving an all-star quality to any event.

Lanier Event Shuttle transportation can be customized for many event scenarios. Lanier provides group transportation as a low cost alternative to multiple cars. It is ideal for events such as broker tours and corporate golf outings. Lanier shuttles can even be wrapped with an event or sponsorship advertisement. An on-board concierge can assist with attending to your guests' needs such as after event dining reservations, promotional giveaways, and information about the entertainment opportunities near the departure/arrival site.

Lanier has partnered with Atlanta Luxe transportation to provide luxury transportation for the executive in all of us. With one call, you can arrange for airport transportation, valet for your wedding or event, and shuttles for that class reunion golf outing. Atlanta Luxe offers a fleet of vehicles ranging from the traditional Lincoln Town Car to a 2008 Rolls Royce Phantom. This fleet is maintained beyond state industry standards, and all drivers are the best trained chauffer professionals in the business. Lanier’s partnership with Atlanta Luxe also gives our guests the ability to arrange transportation in five major U.S. cities.

These new services are yet another reminder of why Lanier is Beyond Parking.