500 Empty Spaces Every Day
During the week of November 12-16, PedNet volunteers measured an average of 500 vacant spaces at mid-morning in the City of Columbia’s four downtown parking garages. At the same time, the City is building a 700-space parking garage at the corner of Fifth and Walnut.
According to the Public Works Department, this additional capacity is needed for a variety of reasons. It will provide:
- Covered, secure parking for police vehicles;
- Parking for more than 100 other City employees moving back downtown when the City Building expansion is complete;
- Additional employee parking needed because of the expansion of the Boone County Government Center and Courthouse;
- Off-street parking for Post Office employees;
- Parking for employees and customers at various downtown businesses.
Inadequate parking north of Broadway was identified in a May, 2001 parking study commissioned by the City of Columbia and performed by TranSystems Corporation. The study, titled “Parking Study Update, Downtown Business District, City of Columbia, Missouri
” (5.08 MB document) created a detailed inventory of existing parking supply and employment numbers, applied a parking model to predict parking demand on every block, estimated the effect of various anticipated changes on parking demand, and then made its final recommendation to add 300 parking spaces.
The key component of the parking study is the parking model, which is introduced (but not explained) on page 10. A parking model is some
kind of formula that is designed in such a way that it accurately predicts
existing measured parking demand based on existing known conditions; and can then be extrapolated to predict future parking demand based on anticipated future conditions. According to the text, “Details of the parking model are included in the Appendix, …” but no such details explaining how the tables of existing and anticipated future conditions are used to calculate existing and predicted future demand are apparent.
Here are some observations about the study:
- The model assumes downtown shoppers “desire to park within 300 feet of their destination” and employees “will tolerate distances of about 600 feet.” (page 5).
- The model “was determined to be calibrated to a reasonable degree of accuracy” (page 10) even though it overestimated existing parking demand by 286 spaces – close to the 300 additional spaces the report finally recommends are needed to address future demand.
- There is no explanation for how the anticipated changes in the downtown area (renovation of the Missouri Theater, several new museums, Columbia Daily Tribune expansion, and Wabash Transit Center) were entered into the model to predict future parking demand. Some of these changes have not happened and others, eg. the Wabash Transit Center, may not generate increased parking demand.
- There is no explanation about how the model handles different modes of transportation, but the assumption appears to be that the private automobile will be the only or main mode used by downtown employees and visitors. This assumption may be invalid for a number of reasons, including the economic downturn, the inevitable steep rise in gas prices in the next few years following the peaking of global oil production, and the fact that Columbia residents are significantly changing their travel behaviors. Surveys and traffic counts have shown a doubling or tripling of bike/ped journeys in the last two years as a result of promotion and education programs by the PedNet Coalition; new City policies to build complete streets, reduce neighborhood speed limits, and criminalize motorist aggression towards cyclists; and new infrastructure paid for by the $22 million federal GetAbout Columbia project.
- The model predicts that, without the creation of additional parking supply, the anticipated changes will increase peak parking demand to 75-80% of existing capacity (meaning 20-25% of existing spaces would still be empty). More specifically, it predicts peak parking demand north of Broadway will reach 80-85% of existing capacity, and recommends the creation of 300 additional spaces to reduce that peak parking demand to 70% of capacity, which is considered desirable.
Even if the model is accurate and valid, should the City simply follow these recommendations, based on residents’ present behaviors? Or does it have the right and responsibility to encourage certain behaviors it considers to be in the best interests of the community, through policies and funding priorities? In fact, the City is already influencing behaviors with its policies on complete streets, neighborhood speed limits, and bicycle harassment, as well as the GetAbout Columbia funding. Increased investments in public transportation would be more consistent with these initiatives and would represent a healthy and sustainable approach to stimulating the downtown business district.
Downtown visitors, businesses, and residents do not want downtown to be the same as the suburbs, so it does not make sense to use a suburban model of transportation (the single-occupancy vehicle) for the city’s urban core. Unlike the suburbs, downtown Columbia is a dense, mixed-use, generally walkable environment with attractive architecture - a place where it is safe, comfortable and enjoyable to walk or ride a bicycle – and the main reason is that the area was not designed for heavy automobile use and does not have heavy automobile use. This distinction would be better preserved by emphasizing bus routes, trails, bike lanes, and sidewalks as the transition corridors connecting the car-oriented suburbs with the walkable central core, rather than encouraging more cars downtown.
Given that the Fifth and Walnut garage is already under construction, it’s important to point out that it does have a number of positive features, from PedNet’s point of view. These include:
- “Mixed-use” nature of building, with retail outlets on the ground floor;
- More efficient storage of cars in a multi-story garage compared with a surface lot;
- Capacity to safeguard the prosperity of the downtown business district with its greater density, better opportunities for active living, and lower overall environmental impact compared with suburbs and shopping malls;
- Payment of user fees through permits and metered spaces.
User fees are essential. First, they enable the City to recoup the $15 million in construction costs plus interest, so there will be no financial impact on other city programs and services. Second, if implemented correctly, they provide an incentive for downtown employees and visitors to walk, bike, or use public transport, thereby reducing congestion, wear-and-tear on the roads, and greenhouse gas emissions while promoting an active, healthy lifestyle. Read more about the High Cost of Free Parking.
In general, there has been widespread support for the Fifth and Walnut garage from City staff, elected officials, local businesses, and the general public. The time for public input to this project has passed but, with an eye to future projects and to city parking policies in general, it is reasonable and necessary to ask valid questions.
Will the structure be fully used or stand half-empty like other downtown parking garages? It is questionable that the changes taking place downtown will actually create an increased demand for 1,200 parking spaces (the current 500-space surplus plus the additional 700 at Fifth and Walnut.) If that turns out to be correct, City Council and staff should start to be more skeptical about “expert” traffic and parking studies.
What will be the effect on downtown traffic congestion, street maintenance budgets, air quality, and general esthetics? Traffic congestion is already one of the chief complaints of Columbia residents. If an additional 1,200 – or even 600 – cars are coming into the central city on existing roads, the results are easy to predict. The national cost of road construction, repair and widening is in the tens of billions of dollars every year, and the cycle of increasing traffic and widening streets is not sustainable.
Will permits to the garage be made available for purchase by City and Post Office employees or will they be provided free of charge? If the City, Post Office and other employers sell parking permits to employees at the market price, each individual can choose to save money by walking, bicycling, or taking the bus. If they are “given” to employees, individuals should have the option to decline the permit and receive an equivalent cash-out bonus.
Should planners design parking facilities to cater to the peak demand or the average, and what type of transportation model should they use? Energy utilities, such as the City of Columbia’s Water and Light Department, know that it is wasteful to generate enough power for peak demand all the time. Instead, they “manage” demand to create a flatter, more consistent use profile, by providing incentives, thereby using resources more efficiently. A similar analysis could be applied to parking, meaning fewer than the peak number of spaces would be built. Second, the model could assume that certain numbers of downtown employees and visitors would walk, bike, or use public transportation.
What are advantages and disadvantages of “minimum parking” zoning requirements? Zoning laws requiring a certain minimum number of parking spaces on site at every business or residence were well-intentioned, but have resulted in urban sprawl, “hollowed-out” areas of downtown business, and a transportation system that relies entirely on the automobile.
Should parking revenues be used only for more parking facilities or could they fund public transport or other projects that reduce traffic? In Columbia, all revenues from parking meters and garages must be used to pay for more parking facilities, by ordinance. Why was this law implemented? Does it make sense, today? A long-term program of investing parking revenues in public transport would achieve the dual goal of managing parking demand while improving public transport.
Is this project in conflict with the City’s push to encourage healthy and environmental transportation options through the federally-funded GetAbout Columbia project? The goal of the $22 million GetAbout Columbia (in which the PedNet Coalition is a paid consultant) is to create “modeshift” – meaning to replace automobile journeys with walking and bicycling journeys. Is that effort supported or opposed by spending $15 million to make it easier for Columbians to drive and park downtown?
