HOW MANY REINDEER PER 1000 SQ. FEET? ….
Dear Readers … Vice Mayor Dodd went back and looked at what transpired during the direction given concerning item 14 a. Parking Requirement Modifications and his motion for a 3 year “compromise” for a parking suspension program …He wants to make sure the support is there for a full elimination as he contends is the way to go and does not want a repeat of what occurred earlier in the evening’s meeting when at the 11th hour this Commission did what they swore they would not …act like the previous Commission and throw out an ordinance up for 2nd reading…and cost the Town in staff/board (P+Z)/ Commission time as well as the cost incurred for the process…That item was Ord.2010-18 Amending Sec. 30-313(31) “Accessory Buildings And Structures”…It went down in a 2-3 vote with Vincent/Clottey/Minnet voting no… VM Dodd asked for an amendment to fine anyone who leaves the non-permitted structure up during a hurricane warning to avoid damage it might cause.. I agreed with Comm. Vincent that it should not be added and thought he did a good job of comparing it to patio furniture etc… Where he went wrong was his height reconsideration …no wanting it equal to a one story house …As one reader stated smaller is a dog house not a storage shed…. This height was passed after discussion by the P & Z a few months back and in the 1st reading ordinance… It was surprising the TAtty. went along with VM Dodd’s request as she is on record when the same question of any recourse for destruction resulting to a neighbor from such a structure was asked by Mayor Minnet who used Comm. Clottey’s previous tale of her own property damage after a storm from a neighbors debris.. The TAtty. was pretty clear that the Town would not want to get in the middle of a dispute and she should have stuck to that advise when faced with this amendment …in this writer’s opinion.. After all the Mayor was correct on when Code would be going out to check …Comm. Sasser also made it clear he thought this was not his cup of tea… In the end in again what appeared to be deja vu to the previous Comm./Administration this P + Z passed ordinance went down… What should have happened is the amendment should have been voted down and the ordinance as prepared should have then been voted on.. That option should have been offered up to the Comm. by the TAtty/ TM and/or the Mayor…But Mayor Minnet is on record she did not want the ordinance in the first place and does not want sheds in residential yards…Mayor Minnet is the only member of the dais who does not live in a house with a yard …If she was she too would know sheds of this type are needed …So much for the “we need to follow the advice of our boards” defense!… What happens now for those with these sheds in their yards?… Will they be sought out as those with sheds and boats were by the Colon led Code Enforcement a few years back?… GULP!…
Vice Mayor Dodd’s Request for the Round Table …
SUBJECT TITLE: Parking Ordinance Draft
EXPLANATION: I would like a “show of Hands” whether the vote on Dec 7th truly reflects the majority wish for a
“Temporary suspension program for three years with a review ” or whether a “Parking elimination until such time program”
is what the commission really wants. I do not want to waste staff time on providing an ordinance for first reading only to
find it gets substantially changed before second reading. I do not want a repeat of the “Shed” ordinance since we as a
commission need to reach agreement by the time staff draft an Ordinance for first reading .
RECOMMENDATION: After very careful consideration I personally see no overriding legal reason why the
commission shouldn’t adopt a “Parking elimination until staff brings back a report that here is a problem” as it
conveys a totally different connotation of where we as a commission stand and our policy towards new restaurant
businesses that want to invest in our town.
BC- Let’s see those hands Commissioners…then let the PR begin…No Parking Requirements for Restaurants (types) in Lauderdale-By-The-Sea!…
On this same topic a Google produced the following from November 2001 …
“The Future of Parking in
Broward County
A guide for the development of a County Parking Policy
A report to the Transportation Planning and Air Quality
Divisions of the Broward County Department of Planning and
Environmental Protection
November 2001
The Center for Creating the Future, Inc.”
BC- If you don’t read it all…below are a few excerpts that are my favorites…/ We can succeed with full parking exemption for restaurants to allow for businesses to come in and set up shop …which will ultimately lead to the topic of incentives offered to them from the Town and discussed ad nauseum by the past 3 Master Plan Steering Committee’s (comprised of both factions )…in order to spruce up these these businesses and buildings …. inside and out!…A jumpstart!….
“The Center emphasizes that parking solutions require less capital and shorter lead times than
other traffic-related actions and can be adopted as needed.”
“We live today with the restrictions and rules
decided at least 10 years ago. Each local government has standards that impose requirements
for parking, ranging from upper-end suburban cities where every car is required to be in a
garage, to Fort Lauderdale, where there is no requirement for parking in the downtown. If asked,
most residents of Fort Lauderdale would probably be surprised that their city does not require
parking for new buildings downtown, but this is not as dramatic as it sounds. A developer
wouldn’t be able to get financing or tenants if there were no parking. The market, not the city,
sets the amount of parking needed. The recommendations in this report can be put in place at the
discretion of policymakers to diminish the negative impacts of additional parking that will be
added in the coming years.”
“Since this is a parking study, we assume that, as the County’s population increases, the demand
for parking will increase. This is not strictly linear, i.e. one person does not equal one car equals
X residential and job-related parking spaces. It requires, at the very least, age and income
analysis as well as marketing trends analysis. For example — just two of the many possible
examples — will the trend of more people eating more meals outside the home continue or
decline as we age? The Center forecasts dramatic 10-to-20-year increases in the longevity of the
US population over the next 30 to 50 years, so will we drive more (more free time) or less
(reduced skills)? Probably both: with more people over the age of 75, virtually all will want to
remain mobile. Some of us will require more shuttles and others will continue to drive (using
anti-aging nutrients to retain our faculties).
There are several trends that could lead to reduced demand for parking spaces: more reliance on
public transportation, more telecommuting, and more internet and telephone shopping. As the
analysis and the recommendations will demonstrate, PARKING SOLUTIONS ARE MUCH
LESS CAPITAL INTENSE AND HAVE MUCH SHORTER IMPLEMENTATION TIMES
THAN RELATED TRAFFIC-ISSUE SOLUTIONS. Necessary changes can be made
incrementally with much less risk of time and capital. (THIS IS A KEY POINT OF THIS
STUDY. Key points will be highlighted and numbered. This is Key Point 1.)”
“We have followed many paths in our research, our analysis, and our presentation. The Center
considers it essential that such studies be accessible to the informed general public as well as
technicians and experienced policy makers. A thick stack of paper simply will not be read. Our
report is meant to be seen and the mounds of data available will be accessible but not included.
The information presented will be what is necessary to begin developing a plan for the future.
That plan can begin to be implemented at once, in six months, or two years. As the specific
recommendations will make clear, some should begin sooner rather than later, that is, to
CREATE THE FUTURE OF PARKING NOW RATHER THAN WAITING FOR IT. (Key
Point 2.)”
“Market clearing
Finally, there is the effect of people’s daily choices: If it gets too bad, they just won’t do it. If the
experience of parking is too stressful, expensive or difficult, people won’t park there and they
will go somewhere else. (Key Point 5.) It is easy to misunderstand this phenomenon, known to
economists as market clearing. It is part process, part explanation, part solution. Some simple
examples: we will not reach actual gridlock; people will go elsewhere. We will not run out of
oil: we will switch to substitutes or change our behavior.
We often hear people say that some location in Broward County has reached its traffic or parking
limit. Perhaps. For example, traffic in Miami is worse, yet tolerated. There are parking
facilities in Miami which have eight or more levels of parking, all full. There is obviously some
attraction in Miami, either jobs, business opportunities, entertainment, or whatever, that
continues to pull different people, at different times, into Miami in spite of the congestion. Also,
it is clear, at least anecdotally, that there are people who don’t go to Miami because of the
congestion who would go, or perhaps so at off peak times, if there was less congestion. Each location, of course, will have a different degree of “magnetism.”
“The Center recommends creation of a Parking Information Network which would provide local
officials, developers and individuals with more information and more accessible information
about parking options.
A comment about the role of public policy in the evolution of parking: “Public policy today
determines the environment of 2010 and beyond.” We live today with the restrictions and rules
decided at least 10 years ago. Each local government has standards that impose requirements
for parking, ranging from upper-end suburban cities where every car is required to be in a
garage, to Fort Lauderdale, where there is no requirement for parking in the downtown. If asked,
most residents of Fort Lauderdale would probably be surprised that their city does not require
parking for new buildings downtown, but this is not as dramatic as it sounds. A developer
wouldn’t be able to get financing or tenants if there were no parking. The market, not the city,
sets the amount of parking needed. The recommendations in this report can be put in place at the
discretion of policymakers to diminish the negative impacts of additional parking that will be
added in the coming years.”
…………………
Extensive Excerpts ………
“Executive Summary
Introduction
Broward County’s Division of Transportation Planning asked the Center for Creating the Future,
Inc., to look at the future of parking issues in Broward County, including a study of current
parking conditions in Broward County, the impact of these conditions on drivers and the
environment, options for responses to anticipated parking conditions, and recommendations.
The Center has presented this report in an innovative fashion, maintaining its work on an ongoing
basis on its web site, www.creatingthefuture.org, and publishing it on a compact disk as
well as in print format. The print format has been designed to approximate a web site in its
appearance, with many pictures.
Parking presents more issues than just “Do we have enough places to park?” In addition to the
objective reality of sufficient spaces, perceptions of sufficiency, ease of access and
environmental impact must also be considered. Further, while we have focused on parking,
parking issues are inextricably linked with traffic issues and, to that extent, we have addressed
that link. Simply put, if parking is plentiful, more people will drive; if parking is difficult, fewer
people will drive (or they will go elsewhere). Put another way, the better the parking, the more
likely traffic will increase: if you build more parking facilities, just as if you build more roads,
they will come. Restricting parking, coupled with providing options to driving (e.g., remote
parking and shuttles or more and better public transportation) will reduce demand for parking.
Presently, there is not an objective shortage of parking in Broward County except for certain
peak times at popular commercial locations and in the area surrounding the Broward County
Courthouse in Fort Lauderdale.
There is, however, a perception of a parking shortage, resulting from the rapid development of
certain areas, and a lack of adequate information about parking locations. Also, drivers,
accustomed to surface parking, are reluctant to use parking ramps, especially the higher floors of
those ramps. Stress on many drivers results from these conditions.
This report also emphasizes the environmental damage resulting from too many cars driving
around, looking for the perfect parking space. Methods for reducing this environmental damage
are presented. The study concludes that demand for parking is most likely to increase as the
population increases. It presents a wide variety of options in response to those increased
demands ranging from providing better information about parking options, to diversion of
drivers to public transportation or remove parking and shuttles into impacted areas.
Providing more parking downtown will increase traffic and congestion, but that gives all the
more reason for public policy makers to maximize the use of existing spaces rather than just
allowing more spaces to be built.
The Center recommends creation of a Parking Information Network which would provide local
officials, developers and individuals with more information and more accessible information
about parking options.
A comment about the role of public policy in the evolution of parking: “Public policy today
determines the environment of 2010 and beyond.” We live today with the restrictions and rules
decided at least 10 years ago. Each local government has standards that impose requirements
for parking, ranging from upper-end suburban cities where every car is required to be in a
garage, to Fort Lauderdale, where there is no requirement for parking in the downtown. If asked,
most residents of Fort Lauderdale would probably be surprised that their city does not require
parking for new buildings downtown, but this is not as dramatic as it sounds. A developer
wouldn’t be able to get financing or tenants if there were no parking. The market, not the city,
sets the amount of parking needed. The recommendations in this report can be put in place at the
discretion of policymakers to diminish the negative impacts of additional parking that will be
added in the coming years.
Conclusion
The Center emphasizes that parking solutions require less capital and shorter lead times than
other traffic-related actions and can be adopted as needed. However, since we can anticipate
these future needs, we have the opportunity to act before they become critical and can become
even better able to anticipate the future by developing better information.
1. Overview of present issues
Conventionally, a parking study involves taking a discrete area, analyzing the zoning uses and
densities and multiplying by a formula or formulas to arrive at an estimated need for parking.
An example is the Beach Study completed in 2000 for the City of Fort Lauderdale by Walker
Parking Consultants, which used a growth rate of 2.88% to predict an estimated shortfall of 758
parking spaces during the busiest season by 2005 (growing to a deficit of 2,209 spaces by
2020).
This study will go well beyond that. This study will address parking issues throughout Broward
County and, while urban areas with intense commercial uses will receive the most attention,
suburban commercial areas and certain residential parking issues will be addressed.
While the basic issue is, is there enough parking and, if not, what can be done about it, we will
also address the negative environmental impacts of parking: emissions resulting from searching
for parking spaces inside and outside ramps and the loss of carbon dioxide-oxygen exchange as
more grass is paved over.
Since this is a parking study, we assume that, as the County’s population increases, the demand
for parking will increase. This is not strictly linear, i.e. one person does not equal one car equals
X residential and job-related parking spaces. It requires, at the very least, age and income
analysis as well as marketing trends analysis. For example — just two of the many possible
examples — will the trend of more people eating more meals outside the home continue or
decline as we age? The Center forecasts dramatic 10-to-20-year increases in the longevity of the
US population over the next 30 to 50 years, so will we drive more (more free time) or less
(reduced skills)? Probably both: with more people over the age of 75, virtually all will want to
remain mobile. Some of us will require more shuttles and others will continue to drive (using
anti-aging nutrients to retain our faculties).
There are several trends that could lead to reduced demand for parking spaces: more reliance on
public transportation, more telecommuting, and more internet and telephone shopping. As the
analysis and the recommendations will demonstrate, PARKING SOLUTIONS ARE MUCH
LESS CAPITAL INTENSE AND HAVE MUCH SHORTER IMPLEMENTATION TIMES
THAN RELATED TRAFFIC-ISSUE SOLUTIONS. Necessary changes can be made
incrementally with much less risk of time and capital. (THIS IS A KEY POINT OF THIS
STUDY. Key points will be highlighted and numbered. This is Key Point 1.)
Finally, the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 have raised another issue which was not
foreseen in the original scope of this study. Security should, however, be addressed as the extent
of the risk becomes clarified. A look back at the history of similar events shows that present
responses are almost certainly overly cautious, but nonetheless, the issue should be addressed at
a later time.
We have, to the extent possible, made an effort to limit this study to parking issues and not slide
into traffic issues. In fact, the separation is not a clear or simple one. At a very basic supplydemand
level, more and cheaper parking will attract more cars, creating more traffic.
Conversely, limited, expensive parking will discourage drivers and limit traffic.
Many analyses of traffic problems look to parking restrictions as a traffic control mechanism.
(See Alan Durning’s article.) In downtown San Francisco, creation of new parking spaces is
strictly limited in an effort to deflect people to public transportation.
Further, poor parking information can cause drivers to spend time and road space looking for
parking spaces, thus increasing traffic volume. Occasionally, cars back up entering crowded
parking facilities, either at ramps or surface lots, can actually block road traffic.
This report will not expand into traffic issues, but the reader should keep in mind that improving
parking conditions will improve traffic conditions.
2. Methods
We have followed many paths in our research, our analysis, and our presentation. The Center
considers it essential that such studies be accessible to the informed general public as well as
technicians and experienced policy makers. A thick stack of paper simply will not be read. Our
report is meant to be seen and the mounds of data available will be accessible but not included.
The information presented will be what is necessary to begin developing a plan for the future.
That plan can begin to be implemented at once, in six months, or two years. As the specific
recommendations will make clear, some should begin sooner rather than later, that is, to
CREATE THE FUTURE OF PARKING NOW RATHER THAN WAITING FOR IT. (Key
Point 2.)
Each reader should be able to reach his or her own conclusions from the presentation as to the
timing of the recommendations.
Present Parking Conditions in Broward County
We will address four elements regarding present parking conditions in Broward County:
a) Availability: Is there enough parking?
b) Access: How easy is it to park?
c) Perceptions: Why is parking stressful?
d) Environmental impacts of parking
a) Is there enough parking in Broward County?
There are some calculations about adequacy of parking in Broward County, but certainly nothing
approaching completeness. Since it would be a number which changed daily, as new spaces are
developed and old spaces put to other uses, without constant updating, even a 99% accurate
number (unlikely) would quickly become out of date.
(A rough estimate of parking available in 17 garages for Downtown Fort Lauderdale is 10,688
spaces. Details of this estimate are given on the Future of Parking web site at
www.geocities.com/futureofparking/pin.html.) In addition, the inventory would need to be
matched with demand requirements, an even more elusive target (see page 19 for a case study of
two office buildings, where the ratio of employees to parking spaces approaches 1.25-to-1, one
of the highest ratios in Broward County). To some degree, demand and utilization are a function
of availability. The easier it is to park, the less likely we are to consider alternatives such as
walking, public transportation or staying put.
Extensive observations and interviews, while necessarily anecdotal, have provided evidence
which indicates there is no actual shortage of parking spaces in Broward County. (The
perception of shortages will be addressed below.) This can be checked by observation and
experience. For example, viewing the area thought to be in the most critical condition,
downtown Fort Lauderdale, from the top floor of any tall building will reveal, at any given time,
significant numbers of empty spaces. Similarly, on a tour of downtown, one will only
occasionally encounter a “Lot Full” sign.
There are exceptions. In bad weather, indoor parking can reach capacity as more people wish to
park indoors and those already in, choose to stay in. The area around the Broward County
Courthouse also experiences overloads in the morning hours as lawyers, litigants and jurors all
attempt to find nearby spaces at the same time. Recent security measures have exacerbated this
situation. Prior to that, the switch to selecting jurors from the list of licensed drivers rather than
from the list of registered voters increased the size of the jury pools necessary to fill juries. More
pre-screening (already suggested to County parking officials by The Center) may improve this
situation.
People’s expectations that a parking space should be in the very closest proximity to their
destination, adds to the Courthouse problem and the concomitant morning congestion.
There is considerable expansion of parking facilities on the north side of the New River, at the
Bank of America building, the first Union Building and One River Plaza. Another peak load
circumstance in the downtown is the Florida Atlantic University/Broward Community College
Higher Education Complex at Las Olas and Southeast Third Avenue. That problem is
compounded by student and faculty expectations that parking should not only be contiguous to
the buildings but free as well. Utilization of the top floor of the City Park garage by FAU and
BCC has improved this situation considerably.
Peak-Hour Shortages
Elsewhere in Broward County, parking shortages are almost entirely peak-hour problems,
usually resulting from demand that exceeds the conventional parking formulas. One or more
exceptionally popular restaurants or bars can throw off the conventional calculations for a
shopping center by a wide margin. Market clearing and the usual ebb and flow of consumer
choices will usually handle these situations: that is, either because of the parking difficulties or
just the fickleness of popular taste, the “crisis” will pass. Some cities, such as Weston, have
responded by changing their formulas. (A complete set of parking ordinances for Broward
County and its municipalities can be accessed by sending an e-mail message to Rosalia Bunge
([email protected]) at Broward County’s Department of Planning and Environmental
Protection.)
Private-sector strategies can include providing valet parking at peak times, which increases both
customer satisfaction and parking capacity and raising prices. (A fuller discussion of pricing
strategies will be found below). Fort Lauderdale Beach, for example has less intense parking
problems than a few years ago, when it seemed that “everyone” had to go to Beach Place.
Other commercial situations, such as warehouses and office parks, seem to be satisfactorily
served by present formulas. The City of Weston has added an innovative approach to these uses
by tailoring the parking requirements of new office park developments to the actual intended
use. For example, a trans-shipping facility with a small number of employees and no visiting
customers will be required to make fewer spaces than an electronics assembly facility or
telemarketing operation.
Opportunities to park in residential developments also seem to be adequate at this time, with a
few serious exceptions. When the resident mix of a multi- unit complex changes, severe
problems can result. Most of the condominiums built in the 1970s in Broward County were
designed for retirees who rarely had more than one vehicle. Those unit owners are now being
replaced by much younger couples, in most of which both partners work. Further, as housing
costs rise, apartments which were previously rented to one person and one car are now being
occupied by two working roommates. Given the economic status of these projects, most
physical solutions are not financially feasible, for example, tearing down some buildings to
create parking space or acquiring adjacent properties for more parking. The cost squeeze in
these situations can be severe and while it is not a public obligation, local governments need to
be aware and prepared to assist with zoning changes and in other ways.
There are a few other special peak-hour situations such as churches and various special events
where alternatives to supplying more parking, discussed below, should be considered.
To sum up, there is no overall parking shortage, much less a parking crisis, in Broward County in
terms of availability of parking spaces. That, however, is not the whole story. Access to parking
is an important component of any parking analysis. How can we make parking easier for
people?
b) Access: How easy it is to park?
Improving access to parking, making it easier to park, increases the perception of availability of
parking and reduces the stress of parking. (Key Point 3.)
Presently, people feel there are fewer parking spaces than there actua lly are because they are not
aware of them or feel they are difficult to find or park in.
The problem surfaces in different ways for different people. Tourists may be completely
unaware of parking locations, occasional visitors unaware of all the possibilities and frequent
parkers unaware of alternatives to their accustomed parking spot. Once at the parking garage or
area, signage or lighting may be inadequate, making the parking experience an unpleasant one.
Special events, which change traffic patterns, such as a Las Olas Art Fair or the Air and Sea
Show, compound access to parking dramatically , but they also give us examples of how to deal
with even everyday parking problems.
First, information for the public, from both governmental and private sources, should be plentiful
and understandable. As a driver approaches his or her destination, information should be
continuously available. Even within a parking structure, signage is important, both its visual
clarity and its understandability. As people know more and their experiences get better, the time
necessary to park will decrease, as will stress. Those responsible should thoroughly test their
signs for these factors.
Signs are proliferating throughout our environment. As we increase information about parking
access, it must be done in an esthetically pleasing fashion. It should also be predictable, that is,
in the same locations as testing shows most enhances readability. Absorbing the information
should distract drivers as little as possible, while being effective.
In Europe, much effort goes into making parking “invisible”, concealing parking facilities to the
greatest degree possible. Where it is essential to preserve the historical and esthetic appeal of an
area, this is appropriate. Too often, however, these suggestions come from people who are
merely hostile to automobiles. Most Americans do not share these feelings.
The Aesthetics of Parking
Parking facilities should be as attractive as any other part of our visual environment but they
needn’t be invisible. U.S. drivers like to see where their car is and is going to be. (Key Point 4.)
That factor should not be ignored by planners and urban designers.
c) Perceptions: Why is parking stressful?
The 1990 Census put Fort Lauderdale’s population at 149,377 and in 2000 the city stood at
152,397. The County’s population is over ten times that, 1,623,018 (2000). In 1970, it was only
620,100, just before the take-off. Further, while Fort Lauderdale has long been the County seat,
its downtown and beach did not begin to take off until the mid-1990s. Similarly, suburban
communities have only recently jumped not only in residential population (Weston, Sunrise,
Plantation, Coral Springs), but in commercial development. As a result, all but the most recent
arrivals remember when they could park “anywhere” with no hassle and virtually no charge.
They have forgotten that there was little or nothing to do when they got there. The infrastructure
of downtown Fort Lauderdale, the government office buildings such as the Federal Courthouse,
the State of Florida Office Building, were built in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s but the private
sector response did not kick in until the early ‘90s, fueled to a significant degree by the multiple
offshoots of the entrepreneurial energy of Wayne Huizenga and his associates. All of a sudden,
after 20 years of effort downtown was an “overnight success.” Street parking or the first floor or
two of a parking garage was not enough to park everyone, so a garage building boom in Fort
Lauderdale has given the city more than ten garages with more than 4 levels.
What are acceptable parking conditions?
A parking space on the fourth floor of a parking garage underneath or adjacent to one’s office
building for a monthly fee of $70 (a bargain in New York and an ecstatic circumstance even in
Miami) is considered an insuperable burden in Broward County. On Fort Lauderdale beach,
after the (forced) departure of Spring Break in 1985 and 1986, there was an idyllic period
beginning in the early 1990s when redevelopment was as yet undiscovered. One had the feeling
of having the beach to oneself. When the rest of South Florida and the world discovered our
paradise, things changed. The “crisis” came with the opening of Beach Place, a multi-story
complex of shops and restaurants attached to a time-share hotel. “Everyone” not only had to go
there, they had to park there, not a block away. Now that the initial excitement has calmed down
and people have gotten more savvy, traffic and parking have subsided to the level of “merely
very crowded” during the peak of the tourist season.
Similarly, as suburban communities like Weston and Coral Springs grew, commercial
development moving to the rhythms of natural economic patterns did not always keep up. That,
plus the occasional hyperpopularity of a particular bar, restaurant or shop, would lead to a
parking “crisis.” Eventually, the market place and individuals responded to these conditions:
more parking is created, more restaurants are opened in other areas, and people change their
behavior, either consciously or unconsciously. If a parking or traffic “crisis” continues at a
particular location, it means people want to go there and will pay the price in time and stress.
Local governments can only do so much about these perceptions, but there are several relatively
easy steps which can be taken in the near term to ameliorate these problems. They will be set
forth in our recommendations. It is difficult to quantify the stress levels caused by parking
problems, but they do have social and individual health consequences and should not be brushed
off.
d) Environmental impacts of parking
Most people do not consider parking as an environmental issue, but in fact it is.
In congested downtown areas, it is easiest to see: cars driving around looking for a place to park
add to the amount of air pollution. Within parking structures, where exhausts are trapped, is a
further intensification of the problem. Exhaust fans or open structures reduce the levels inside
the structures by spreading pollutants to the outside, but this only adds to ambient pollution
levels. Air quality regulators are aware of this and limit the amount of exhaust pollution allowed
within designated areas and increased development can be halted if levels are exceeded (see the
web page about the Parking Facility License).
Air Quality
Broward County is presently regarded as having adequate air quality (after having been under
EPA restrictions that required vehicle emissions to be checked annually). Our air quality is
constantly being monitored and we must be continuously aware of the impact of automobile
generated pollution on our air quality and quality of life.
The issue is not limited to densely deve loped urban areas. Large suburban parking lots can also
be large generators of auto exhaust as people search for parking spaces. Furthermore, the
instinctive response to a shortage of parking, even if only at a few peak periods, is to require
paving over more land for more parking. This not only fails to reduce pollution, it reduces air
quality by eliminating vegetation which cleans our air and exchanges carbon dioxide for
oxygen. Also, while we now require storm water runoff to be contained on site at parking lots, if
the water does not filter back into the aquifer, it will either require expensive treatment or dump
pollutants into our waterways.
The Future of Parking in Broward County
(Most Likely Outcomes)
The easiest projection to make of any future trend is a straight line following existing data. In
the case of parking needs in Broward County, or almost anywhere, the easiest forecast would be
to take present spaces — exact number unknown — and multiply by the anticipated increase in the
population. It then becomes a simple matter to predict that Broward County will need to provide
“more” parking spaces, both public and private, tied to population forecasts. A more
conservative forecast would be “much more” parking, the outer limit would be “a whole lot
more.” This is not just an attempt at humor, it is a reductio ad absurdum of present parking
planning: build more of the same as demand requires.
Refining our forecasts
This model falls well short of what is possible. First, population numbers can be refined.
Driving, working, education, shopping, entertaining are some of the constituent elements of
parking demand that can be made much more precise by demographic analysis: age and income,
information which is easily accessible, can reduce or increase the forecast of anticipated drivers
and their likely destinations. Young children need to be driven to school, older children will in
many cases drive themselves. Age and income figures, properly analyzed, can give us
reasonably reliable figures on shopping, dining out, employment and so forth. Private sector
marketing analyses do this all the time. Knowing the answer to these questions can help us to
refine our forecasts, reducing the chance of over- or under-reaction. Fortunately, parking
changes require a relatively short-term turnaround, and corrections can be relatively easily made.
In addition to refining our forecasts, there are plausible alternatives that could lead to a need for
less parking than a simple or even complex demographic forecast would indicate.
Transportation planners for many years have been urging more reliance on public transportation
and this message is beginning to influence decision makers. Investment in Tri- Rail has been
increased. Expansion of Miami-Dade’s MetroRail into Broward County, the Community Bus
program in various municipalities, the Waterbus waterways transportation program and
expansion of conventional bus service, with more routes, longer hours of service and shorter
intervals between buses are all underway. Historically, these changes have lagged population
increases, but that is beginning to change, with public transportation ridership showing greater
increases, in some circumstances, than the population. While this is not the place to discus s the
cost-effectiveness of such programs, there is no doubt that greater availability, improved access,
better information, and momentum* will increase ridership and reduce demand for parking.
Impact of technology
Other trends, difficult to quantify, will also have some impact. More people are doing some or
all of their work at home. As the technologies which facilitate working at or near home become
better and more familiar, such as wireless Internet access, voice recognition for email and
teleconferencing, we can expect these trends to reduce traffic and parking demand.
Similarly, while the bursting of the dot-com bubble has put a hold on shop-at-home trends, there
is no doubt that these programs will resume and to a greatly expanded audience as convenience,
product quality and service improve. Publix, for example, is undertaking an Internet grocery
shopping service. While the timing of widespread acceptance of this service is uncertain, it is
not difficult to imagine a virtual shopping experience: going down aisles, looking at shelves,
making selections and then having them delivered to a specially designed food-port at one’s
home or apartment. We can see this future; it’s the timing that’s unclear. When it happens,
parking demand will be reduced. A further extension of this notion: as the quality of prepared
foods continues to increase as it has been, another reason to leave home or park at a store or
restaurant on the way home will be eliminated. This will not happen all of a sudden, but it is
happening now. Its impact is hard to measure, but this part of the future is beginning to happen
now.
Market clearing
Finally, there is the effect of people’s daily choices: If it gets too bad, they just won’t do it. If the
experience of parking is too stressful, expensive or difficult, people won’t park there and they
will go somewhere else. (Key Point 5.) It is easy to misunderstand this phenomenon, known to
economists as market clearing. It is part process, part explanation, part solution. Some simple
examples: we will not reach actual gridlock; people will go elsewhere. We will not run out of
oil: we will switch to substitutes or change our behavior.
We often hear people say that some location in Broward County has reached its traffic or parking
limit. Perhaps. For example, traffic in Miami is worse, yet tolerated. There are parking
facilities in Miami which have eight or more levels of parking, all full. There is obviously some
attraction in Miami, either jobs, business opportunities, entertainment, or whatever, that
continues to pull different people, at different times, into Miami in spite of the congestion. Also,
it is clear, at least anecdotally, that there are people who don’t go to Miami because of the
congestion who would go, or perhaps so at off peak times, if there was less congestion. Each
location, of course, will have a different degree of “magnetism.”
In any case, market-clearing will to some degree suppress demand if conditions are “below
acceptable” to certain individuals.
Alternatives (Possible Outcomes)
The relationship between Parking and Congestion is close: If drivers know that there is a
parking space waiting for them, they will try to drive to work. Congestion takes place because
drivers are arriving at or near the traditional beginning of the office work day (9 a.m.).
Flextime, an arrangement where arrival times are staggered, is used in other metropolitan areas
to reduce the peak congestion. A survey was conducted as part of this study to determine the
level of support for flexible arrival times. Past surveys have indicated that managers are less
enthusiastic than their employees are about later start times.
The survey included a question that specifically mentioned e-mail, which has become more
widespread. This survey is believed to be the first to ask about answering e-mail from a home
computer. The survey was sent to the Stiles Buildings 350 and 450 East Las Olas and 800
copies were distributed, thanks to assistance and coordination by Judy Carter, the building
manager.
The Question
Are you able to do some of your work at home, perhaps answering email before you commute to
work after the rush hour? The responses are probably more from people who are advocates of
flex-time work schedules. We expect that the results will fall to about 20 in 100 in support of
flex time.
The critical impediments mentioned in the report are
“My boss wants me in the office at 9 a.m.”
“The e-mail system does not allow me to view the email from home.”
Possible actions
An education campaign could be started, drawing on the experience of companies in Southern
California, where thousands of workers arrive earlier or later and avoid the rush hour.
Creating an email account on a web-based email system, such as Yahoo.com or hotmail.com,
allows the workers to check e-mail from home. Perhaps a worker who arrives early to work can
check the email for other workers and forward e- mail messages to the “later-arriving” workers to
work on before they come to the office.
Parking Information Sources Which Are Available Now
The following contact numbers will allow most organizers of events to quickly identify 90% of
the convenient garage space available for use by event attendees on weekends and evenings:
County Parking Garages (located west of Andrews Avenue and South of Broward Blvd.)
a) the Garage shared with Riverfront Mall
b) the Garage connected by a skywalk to the Government Center
The County Courthouse parking garage (1800 spaces)
Ed Davis, 954.357.6030, fax 954.357.5544
[email protected]
115 South Andrews Avenue, Suite 504
Fort Lauderdale, FL 33301
Ed Davis is the County’s Parking Manager — A position created when the country began to lease
its spaces through a professional parking management company.
Judy Carter, Stiles Building Property Manager, 954.525.9316, at [email protected], covering the
properties at 350 East Las Olas Blvd. (725 parking spaces) and 450 East Las Olas Blvd. (577
parking spaces), totaling 1302 spaces
City of Fort Lauderdale, John Hoelzle, 954.828.3700, with 2,127 parking spaces in the City Park
Parking Garage (and 31 handicapped spaces). Spaces are available in the parking garage next to
the main library. In the month of August 2001, the city sold 2,531 permits for the 2,127 spaces
(obviously, not everyone with a permit uses the space every day).
Creating the Future of Parking in Broward County (Recommendations)
We do not have to sit and wait for the future to arrive. The basic principle of The Center for
Creating the Future, Inc., is tha t we can create our future by understanding what it holds in store
for us and by acting now to prepare for it.
Broward County can begin to create the future of parking in a variety of ways which we will
present as a menu of policy choices. Most of these choices can be immediately implemented,
others have a longer time frame for implementation, whether because the problem is not yet
severe enough or the technology, while foreseeable, is not yet available as a practical matter.
The first choice, which we strongly reject, is to do nothing.
Doing nothing is a choice just as much as adopting one or more policy choices (Key Point 6).
Doing nothing actually means choosing to have a wide variety of public and private decision
makers respond on an ad hoc basis to each need or “crisis” as it arises. If the response is
inadequate, people will adjust various ways and life will go on (see discussion above about
market clearing).
The difficulty with this choice is that it is unnecessarily inefficient. We say unnecessarily
because, as will be shown, parking can be improved without massive capital investment and
long-term projects. Parking is not so complex a matter that the “invisible hand” of the market
will produce a better result as would be the case where the scope of the problem exceeds the
grasp of public policy. While parking is not as simple a matter as it appears to most people at
first blush, neither does it require the resources needed to put people on the Moon (which, of
course, we did).
Better data
Better decisions, public or private, individual or institutional, require better data. As mentioned
at the beginning of this report, some parking data is available but changes occur so frequently
that any given snapshot is of limited value.
Specific data is important for two uses: planning and consumer information.
Public or private parking decision makers should be able to access not only current parking data
but to interact with that data with their own plans and marketing information so that we don’t go
from not enough parking in a given situation to too much because three developers built 900
spaces each when there was a demonstrated need for only 1500 spaces.
Further, an accurate Parking Data Bank would become the basis for providing parking
availability information to consumers. Initially, this could be done in the form of area parking
maps and a web site showing parking locations. This could over time develop into a very
sophisticated system – initially with an online or call- in parking availability service, later a radio
format with parking information and eventually an interactive Global Positioning system (GPS).
The Miami Dade Metropolitan Planning Organization is presently considering a full- time radiobased
traffic information system. If accurate parking data were available, it could easily be
added to this radio format.
Parking Information Network
To make such data useful, Broward County could create a Parking Information Network (PIN).
This Network would, at a minimum, provide parking data to municipal and private parking
developers. It could also provide parking availability information to consumers online and
through tourist oriented brochures and, as need/demand increased, go to more sophisticated
communication methods.
Local parking providers could also make this information available to tenants and customers. At
the local level, it is also essential to provide effective, attractive and consistent parking signage
for both drivers on the street and within parking structures and lots. Better information is an
important first step to reducing parking stress (to say parking rage would be a bit much) and to
reducing pollution emitted by parking space hunting. The importance of interior signs should
not be minimized. Many parking structures and even surface lots we studied do not clearly show
the driver where to go – or not go – and drivers can end up frustrated, wasting gas and generating
unnecessary pollution.
Improving communication
A Parking Information Network would serve two very important purposes: to facilitate the most
efficient use of existing parking resources, thereby reducing the need for excessive parking
structures or lots; it could then become the platform for new consumer information technology as
it is developed and needed.
The Downtown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management Association (DFLTMA) is drafting
a proposal (as of November 2001) to develop an inventory of parking spaces. This would be the
first step for creating a Parking Information Network. The TMA is the ideal public-private
partnership to implement the full PIN as it develops. We consider the network to be the
foundation of creating the Future of Parking for Broward County.
Immediate Steps
In addition to the Parking Information Network, there are many specific steps that can be taken
by either municipal or private parking facilities to improve the amount and accessibility of
parking in Broward County.
With or without a Parking Information Network, municipalities and public and private parking
facilities should provide more and better parking information in the form of maps, advertising
and the internet. There are several dramatic examples of how careful coordination and better
information can significantly improve parking conditions even under very adverse
circumstances: the Fort Lauderdale Air and Sea Show, the Winterfest Boat Parade and the Las
Olas Art Fairs. The Air and Sea Show and the Boat Parade have demonstrated how offsite
parking can work, bringing hundreds of thousands of people to Fort Lauderdale beach from
remote parking sites, most on buses but some even on foot. The Air and Sea Show and Boat
Parade are, of course, once-a-year events and very strong attractions. Nonetheless, it shows what
can be done and what people will do given good planning and information.
A Case Study: Las Olas Art Fair
The most recent Las Olas Art Fair was studied closely as another example of what can be done
with intelligent effort. Like the Air and Sea Show, the circumstances are out of the ordinary: an
art fair on a street which is a main route to the beach, running through residential areas sensitive
to the impact of the traffic and parking generated by the Fair. In addition, some of the merchants
on the street are ambivalent about the impact of the crowds on their particular businesses. All
together, a difficult set of problems requiring good planning and great diplomacy. It was a very
instructive case study.
To lessen the impact on the residential streets, fair attendees were not allowed access to the area.
Instead, signs directed them to fair parking at the City Park Garage and free shuttle buses took
them to Las Olas. The program was generally successful.
Lessons learned from the Las Olas Art Fair:
Properly informed and motivated people will accept remote parking;
Bigger and better signs would have helped (see graphics);
Coordinate with other area parking facilities;
If we do it again, it will work even better.
(collected from responses by observers and participants in the new parking arrangements
associated with the Las Olas Art Fair.)
Remote Parking
Remote parking is one of the most frequently mentioned “solutions” to parking and congestion
problems. Attempts have been made in Broward County using the Tri- Rail parking lot at
Broward and I-95, and the City of Fort Lauderdale experimented using the Arts and Science
District Garage for employees. Presently, a TMAX community bus route from State Road 7 and
Oakland Park Boulevard to downtown Fort Lauderdale is operated by the Transportation
Management Association (TMA).
This program could be called a success with 8 round trips (4 in the morning, 4 in the afternoon)
with an average of 57 riders at rush hour each day. Until the crunch is severe, those solutions
will work best which require the least change of behavior by consumers. (Key Point 7.)
Staggered Work Hours
Another example of an idea which requires behavioral changes is staggered work hours. There is
no real reason in many work situations why people need to arrive and leave work between 8:00-
8:30 a.m. and 5:00-5:30 p.m. A survey we conducted for this study shows some individuals are
willing to do this (some may already be doing so without a program), but for many employers,
the response is simply “we’ve never done it that way.”
Live-work arrangements
Live-work arrangements are another way to stagger hours – one need not work every hour at
home – do your e- mail at home and then drive to work or to a meeting. Again, this is more a
congestion than parking matter, but as more people do some, if not all, work at home, the
demands at peak times will decline.
Price mechanisms
Price mechanisms can be an effective way to modify behavior. As we have shown in the marketclearing”
discussion, incentives and disincentives of various kinds can make people change their
behavior. Requiring all parking to be paid by the consumer – no “free” parking for public or
private employees — and raising the prices for parking would certainly reduce demand and both
traffic and parking congestion. What sounds good to the planner or economist may not sound so
good to the individual. Most Americans consider free parking from their employer virtually a
God-given right. Students at the downtown campus of Florida Atlantic University and Broward
Community College feel the same way. They are willing to have a portion of their student
activity fees used to pay for parking, but do not want to pay directly.
Like off- site parking, increasing the direct cost to the consumer can be effective where there is
sufficient motivation. People happily pay parking fees in New York in amounts that would not
be tolerated in Broward County. Even within the county, boosting fees in downtown Fort
Lauderdale could lead to chasing businesses to other locations in the County or in other counties,
which would not only impact downtown businesses but encourage and exacerbate sprawl.
Other techniques, some low-tech which can be implemented immediately, and others which are
higher-tech and higher cost, are available.
Valet Parking
Valet parking, while requiring higher personnel costs, can dramatically increase the capacity of
any parking facility and is easily done in surface lots. It also reduces parking time and stress for
the consumer. Most commonly found at restaurants as a consumer service, it can be much more
widely applied. There are a few office buildings presently using it due to severe shortage of
parking spaces. Valet parking does not work as well where everyone arrives or leaves at the
same time as do most employees, but it does work well for in-and-out and client parking needs.
Robotic Parking
At the high-tech end (see graphic), robotic parking can also increase capacity and reduce
consumer time and stress. A robotic facility uses a pallet storage system for each car, reducing
pollution at the parking site and increasing the capacity of any given land footprint. Presently,
one cannot build a robotic facility in Broward County since parking structure construction codes
require ramps. Fort Lauderdale is presently modifying its ordinances to allow robotic parking
facilities. Like valet parking, robotic parking is not effective where everyone arrives or leaves at
the same time. However, office building developers should be encouraged to put a percentage of
their parking into robotic parking for client parking.
Mixed Surface Lots
On surface lots where peak time demand is infrequent, for example churches, codes should
allow/require a portion of the peak load parking to be on a mixed surface of hard material and
grass. This accomplishes many positive environmental benefits. First, it is more attractive and,
in our climate, possible the entire year. It naturally absorbs and filters storm water and it absorbs
heat rather than holding it on the surface and reflecting it back into the air. The projected
volumes of use for commercial surface lots should be analyzed to allow/require these surfaces.
Cross-easements
Another device for increasing the productivity of existing parking is cross-easements for adjacent
uses where the times of use do not overlap. Some cities allow this now but much more could be
done. In most areas, office building parking, structure and surface, is empty, while nearby
restaurant and bar lots overflow. If the County establishes a Parking Information Network, these
overlapping uses could be negotiated and increased, to everyone’s benefit.
Fine-tuning parking requirements
The City of Weston has modified its codes to allow fine-tuning of parking requirements based on
the actual anticipated use of a commercial or industrial property, rather than using a one-size fitsall
formula based on the square footage of the building. With today’s technology a very large
warehouse transshipping facility can operate with very few employees and few customers
coming to the site requiring very little parking. An electronics assembly plant might require
more than the formula amount. Allowing the parking requirements to be adjusted to the actual
need benefits the property owner and the community by no t wasting space with unnecessary
asphalt.
Similarly, planning codes should recognize the differences created by demographics and
economics in residential parking requirements. Presently, parking codes require apartments or
condos to have X number of parking spaces per unit. Some might modify that based on the
number of bedrooms per unit. None of this acknowledges that many upscale units in Broward
County are second or third homes. Even if it is a primary residence for someone who has other
residences or who travels a great deal, they are not parking there every day, every week.
Generally, the larger and more expensive the unit, the more likely this is to be true. To cite a
dramatic but by no means unique example, a very prominent professional athlete (who is not
with a local team) owns a large unit in a prominent Fort Lauderdale beach condominium. He is
not there every day; he does not drive to work every morning. Parking and traffic regulations
should reflect these demographic variations.
Trips Rates
The “Trip Rates by Purpose” data sheet, dated July 7, 1998, is distributed by Broward County’s
Planning Department to assist developers and planners in predicting the number of trips that a
new development could place on the neighboring road system. Under the residential category of
“High Rise,” each dwelling unit is predicted to create 0.74 trips per day from “home-based
work,” nearly 1 trip for “home-based shopping,” two trips for “home-based other trips” and 0.42
“non-home-based trips.”
Using these numbers, we could observe 100 high-rise units and expect 74 trips generated by
home businesses, 96 trips for shopping, 207 other trips and 42 other trips that are not homebased.
In total, there are 419 predicted trips. Yet, the unit owned by the professional athlete is
outside this model. If many of his friends join him in the building as second-home owners, the
100 units might generate fewer than 200 trips per day.
As long as the increase in residential units continues to be at the high end, economically, many
new owners will not be the full- time residents who enter traffic 50 weeks out of the year. The
full-time population of Fort Lauderdale might not increase significantly, and certainly a lot less
than the 40% growth anticipated in the entire county from 2000 to 2015.
In short, the demographics of the residents of a particular building ought to have some influence
on how the Trip Rates schedule and parking requirements are interpreted.
Car sharing
There are a number of sophisticated car pooling or car sharing ideas in various stages of
development. These eventually involve using technology to facilitate sharing of vehicles in
several ways. Another way of looking at these concepts is to expand the car rental at an airport
model to other situations and locations. For example, you could take public transportation to
work but if you needed a car during the day, even on short notice, one would be available either
in your building or in the area. Larger corporations and local governments presently use such
arrangements (providing a vehicle pool for use by employees) but it would not be a difficult step
to make it more widespread, reducing inbound and outbound rush- hour traffic as well as parking
loads.
Taxicabs
Another very old “technology” exists for avoiding local trips in urban areas – taxicabs. In some
very dense urban areas – New York City and Washington, D.C., for example — they are widely
used by many people who wouldn’t dream of using their car to drive from place to place in the
city. In Broward County, cabs are used largely by tourists, the disabled, and by those who
cannot afford a car. Even with the free downtown TMAX Shuttle in place, people do not
hesitate to drive from one side of the river to the other. It’s very easy. Were it to get more
difficult, taxis, even water taxis, might begin to be used for that purpose. Should that need arise,
taxis can be encouraged by setting aside pick-up/drop-off spaces for them. There are a few but,
by and large, there are no cabs cruising or waiting to be hailed. That we are not using cabs in
that fashion is an indicator that during the day, it is easy to get around and park throughout our
urban areas, even downtown Fort Lauderdale.
On-street parking
Until very recently, the trend of urban planning has been to remove as much on-street parking as
possible. This was due to traffic engineers wanting to move cars more quickly. Wider lanes and
fewer distractions — people parking, opening doors, just being there — allow greater speed. Also,
many urban planners would like to keep cars away and out of sight. More recently, however,
this conventional wisdom has been challenged. Fort Lauderdale has had spectacular results from
its decision to return on-street parking to Las Olas Boulevard, proposed by Center founder Jack
Latona when he served on the Fort Lauderdale City Commission. It significantly increased
pedestrian activity and a sense of sophisticated urban ambience, as well as increased property
values and parking revenue. The reasons for this overnight change are many: on-street parking
increases parking capacity and the perception of increased parking availability. It provides a
buffer for pedestrians and outdoor diners, an important consideration for a through street like Las
Olas. It increases the amount of visual stimulation for pedestrians – people need constant visual
change to keep them interested as they walk. Long, empty vistas discourage walking. Also,
Americans, in particular, like to see where their car is, if possible.
On-street parking is being considered anew for low-density residential areas as well. Long
considered a traffic hazard and a sign of low- income status (older homes, i.e. pre-1940,
frequently did not have larger driveways and garages), on-street parking is now being seen as
having some positive aspects. First, it slows down traffic, a good thing in residential areas.
Second, as in commercial areas, it provides a buffer for pedestrians and visual interest. Third, it
increases parking flexibility where the number of cars in a household increases, usually when the
children begin to drive. Fort Lauderdale has examined various rules for parking in swales where
there are no sidewalks: for example, no tires on the swale, two tires on the swale or all tires on
the swale. There are arguments to be made for each format and their applicability varies from
neighborhood to neighborhood, depending on the width of streets and depth of setbacks to the
front of the house.
Parking Meters
On-street parking in commercial areas raises the issue of parking meters. Meters serve two
purposes, one obvious – revenue – the other not so obvious but also important – turnover.
Turnover means new visitors can have some expectation of finding a space. No turnover,
probably the result of employees parking in front of the store, does not encourage people to stop
and shop. While people can find parking meters and parking tickets an annoyance, they not only
fill municipal coffers but serve the public as well by keeping alive at least the hope of achieving
the American dream: an empty parking space right in front of my destination. It just won’t be
free. There is a large body of information and technology concerning the placement, design and
monitoring of meters as well as an entire business of collecting parking tickets. We feel that is
outside the scope of this study.
All of the above parking strategies can be implemented with existing low-tech methods. Hightech
parking can be seen in our future as well, however.
Siemens Traffic Guidance Systems
As we have stated, changing people’s behavior is difficult. Giving them the information they
need to get to their destination, that is, a specific open parking space, can make their lives easier,
reduce congestion, and improve our environment. As described above, Miami-Dade County is
considering a full- time traffic information radio station, much like those now in service near
large airports. Parking information could easily be made available over this same station.
Siemens has developed a system that enables parking structures to measure incoming vehicles
and to direct them to spaces according to size, thus increasing the capacity of the structure. They
also have developed traffic guidance systems for traffic control which could be connected to the
Parking Information Network and direct drivers to available parking. Other techniques for
enhancing parking structures are available. Presently, it is possible to put traffic and parking
information on the Internet. Soon, it will be possible to get real time information about available
parking and reserve your space before you leave home! More and more cars are coming
equipped with Global Positioning Systems (GPS) either as options or, in some cases, standard.
G P S
While presently a one-way system – you can find out where you are – soon it will be possible to
create an interactive system. (Some vehicles also have a cell phone-based emergency system
that might be adapted to a parking information system.)
This is the perfect example of creating the future: the technology exists or is foreseeable. A chip
in each parking space will communicate to the Parking Information Network that it is empty; you
will ask your GPS to identify a parking space closest to your destination; the screen will show
you the exact location, not just the parking facility, but the space in it. You will then reserve the
space by paying for it with a credit card and go directly to the space, saving time, reducing stress,
and reducing pollution. As the cost of making this technology available comes down, the
need/demand will increase and at that intersection, the future of parking will be created.
Bicycles
When discussing parking, most people think only of automobiles. However, bicycles should also
be given some attention. Broward County and the Florida Department of Transportation have
been quite aggressive in developing bike lanes so that increasingly one can bike, either for
recreation or commuting, throughout much of the County. Less attention has been paid to safely
and conveniently parking bicycles (or motor bikes of one sort of another). Municipalities can
provide more parking for bikes and begin to require it from office and commercial developers.
There are two good reasons for such a policy. First, there are people who prefer to ride their
bikes and they are entitled to accommodation just as automobile drivers are. Second, the more
bike riding is facilitated, the more of it will occur. This is good for both the bike riders and nonriders.
Bikes are healthy for the rider, take up much less space on the road or for parking and do
not pollute. (Even motor bikes take up less space and produce fewer pollutants.) In other parts
of the world, bicycles are very important part of the transportation system, usually because they
are so much cheaper. However, particularly given our climate, there is no reason that more
travel in Broward County could not take place on bikes.
Like walking, riding a bike necessitates dressing differently than most business people presently
do. We need to get away from suits, ties, high heels and panty hose as the business person’s
uniform. In addition to reducing our traffic and parking burdens, this would also enable us to set
our office thermostats higher, saving energy and reducing pollution. Further, we would then
require less cooling as we drive home and after we arrive there.
Most traffic-policy reduction programs involve getting people out of their cars more – that will
not happen in South Florida until we “dress light.” (Key Point 8.)
Conclusions
The future of parking in Broward County can be seen and it can be created. Presently, except for
occasional peak time circumstances, there is no parking crisis in Broward County. That does not
mean there are not specific problems to be solved or that some people still may think there is a
crisis. It means we presently have the facilities available to deal with existing needs so long as
we take steps to maximize the use of what we have. That may involve more efficient use of
present spaces, better information, especially signs, about where parking is available, and, to
some degree, getting people to understand that they should not expect to find a free, empty space
ten steps away from their destination.
Will demand increase?
The future is another matter. While there are some possible changes in work and shopping
behaviors which could lead to a reduced number of automobile trips and the resulting need for
fewer parking spaces, they are most likely only to reduce the anticipated increase in demand, not
cause an actual reduction in demand. (Key Point 9)
The forecast of an increase in demand is based on increases in population, demographic changes
– more young people and more active seniors — and increasing work and non-work choices, all
leading to more trips and more non-home conclusions to those trips, i.e. more parking.
This means we should take steps today to make the parking experience of the future easier, less
stressful and less environmentally damaging.
Two poles of parking policy
Parking policies fall between two poles: do nothing, let the market take its course; or
aggressively restrict parking to shift people from their cars to public transportation (referred to as
the San Francisco Model).
San Francisco has been able to pursue this policy because it already had a very dense, very
compact urban community (49 square miles), politically willing to restrict automobiles, an
economic magnetism that drew countless new dot-com business to want to locate there, and an
existing public transportation infrastructure of buses, trolleys, cable cars, the Bay Area Rapid
Transit (BART) and a sophisticated fleet of taxis which can be hailed on the street in the
downtown.
Broward County, much larger geographically (414 square miles), has not achieved either the
population density or the economic magnetism essential to make such a policy successful.
However, Broward County is continuing to grow rapidly and a hands-off public policy will lead
to chaos in heavily congested areas of the County.
This report sets forth tiers of policy choices that can be adopted as policy makers determine that
circumstances require.
Analysis of the nine key points of the study lead to the conclusion that Broward County should
begin to develop a “Smart Parking” policy that begins with creating the Parking Information
Network which will lay the foundation for efficient implementation of the other parking
solutions available now or in the foreseeable future. These solutions will reduce stress on drivers
and on the environment and can be implemented as needed (Key Point 1). Broward County
should not wait until future developments force reactive solutions (Key Point 6). Demand for
parking will continue to increase but there are factors which may reduce that likely increase (Key
Point 9).
If parking becomes too difficult people will go elsewhere (Key Point 5). To gain acceptance of
new solutions, those most likely to succeed will impose the least change on individuals (Key
Point 7). People will not give up their cars until the alternatives are equally or more attractive
than their present circumstances (Key Point 8).
It is possible to reduce the negative impact of parking (Key Point 3). Parking facilities can and
should be as attractive as any other part of our visual environment (Key Point 4). We can create
the future of parking in Broward County (Key Point 2).
Incremental, low-cost, short-term actions
Most of the steps we have outlined are incremental, low-cost and can be implemented within a
short time frame. Only a few require new and expensive technology and those do not have to be
used to obtain much improved parking experiences. One first step is essential: obtaining and
maintaining up-to-the-minute parking information for the entire county. This will enable public
and private planners to avoid under or over building of parking facilities and allow for the finetuning
techniques we have suggested in this report. Where parking conditions are tight or
perceived to be tight, the information can then be provided to people to maximize existing
parking facilities and reduce the time and stress associated with coping with these conditions. A
Parking Information Network for the County would be a cost-effective first step to creating the
future of parking in Broward County. Other steps could then be taken as we become aware of
the need. If we begin now, we can create a future of faster, easier and cleaner parking in
Broward County.
………….
Key Point 1
Parking solutions are much less capital intense and have much shortest implementation times
than related traffic solutions.
Key Point 2
CREATE THE FUTURE OF PARKING NOW RATHER THAN WAITING FOR IT.
Key Point 3
Improving access to parking, making it easier to park, increases the perception of availability of
parking and reduces the stress of parking.
Key Point 4
Parking facilities should be as attractive as any other part of our visual environment but they
needn’t be invisible. U.S. drivers like to see where their car is and is going to be.
Key Point 5
If the experience of parking is too stressful, expensive or difficult, people won’t park there and
they will go somewhere else.
Key Point 6
Doing nothing is a choice just as much as adopting one or more policy choices. Doing nothing
actually means choosing to have a wide variety of public and private decision makers respond on
an ad hoc basis to each need or “crisis” as it arises. If the response is inadequate, people will
adjust various ways and life will go on.
Key Point 7
Until the crunch is severe, those solutions will work best which require the least change of
behavior by consumers.
Key Point 8
Most traffic-policy reduction programs involve getting people out of their cars more – that will
not happen in South Florida until we “dress light.”
Key Point 9
Changes in work and shopping behaviors are most likely only to reduce the anticipated increase
in demand, not cause an actual reduction in demand.
Background Materials
For readers who want more of the details.
The study was designed to be read in one sitting. It is supported by visuals that help the reader to
grasp the complexity and interconnections of the subject. Parking is not just about placing cars
in safe, convenient zones in a downtown area. Parking defines the interactions between people
and the environment and colors their experience of the city. The best way of capturing the
concepts visualized in this report would be with an animated documentary, which is
recommended for a future information campaign about parking policy issues that might one day
be directed at the general public. The audio- visual items that support this study as background
materials include several videos that have been converted to run on Quicktime Software.
Videos on CD:
Robotic Parking (Information)
Robotic Parking (TV broadcast)
Visit to Publix Multi-Story Garage in Miami Beach
The Case Study: Las Olas Art Fair (September 2001)
Auto-Park Demonstration
Contacts
Paul Carpenter, Executive Director, Do wntown Fort Lauderdale Transportation Management
Authority.
761 3543 Ridership runs an average of 300,000 a year. The “park and ride” lot at 441 and
Oakland Park Blvd. has about 57 riders a day. The ridership in the morning tends to be higher
than the number of riders in the afternoon (some morning commuters apparently catch a ride
home on the bus or with a friend). Two shuttle buses both make two trips in both the morning
and the evening, a total of 8 round trips per day.
Ed Davis, County Parking Manager
A fifteen-foot tall sign (viewable from Broward Blvd. along SW 1st Avenue from Broward), will
be installed on the County Garage. This is the first of what this study’s writers hope will be
more signage to help the first-time visitor to Broward County in navigating.
The diagram is a schematic: it does not represent the actual end product and it is an artist’s
rendition. It was provided by the very helpful and consumer-oriented parking manager who
works for the County.
Source: Ed Davis, [email protected]
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING DIVISION 357-6608
115 S. Andrews Avenue, Room 329H, Ft. Lauderdale, 33301 FAX 357-6228
Director: Bruce Wilson 357-6641; Congestion Management Team – Enrique R. Zelaya 357-
6635; Long Range Transportation Planning Team – Ossama Al Aschkar, P.E. 357-6653
Jeff Weidner, Florida Department of Transportation
Jeff coordinated a useful series of workshops to bring together teams that are working on various
projects in Broward and Southeast Florida. His workshops helped many participants realize that
each team is not only working on a specific project, but also helping to construct part of a
transportation system for the region.
Publications
Countywide Parking Policy Study for Miami-Dade County (project No. E95-MPO-02R), August
1999, prepared by Barton-Aschman Associates. Provided by Jesus Guerra, [email protected].
fl.us, 111 NW First St, Miami, FL 33128, (305) 375-4507
Year 2000 Traffic Count Report, April 2001, Broward County Metropolitan Planning
Organization.”
more to come…………
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