Residential Permit Parking: Better Off Without It?

Residential permit parking (RPP) programs are an often-used yet imperfect solution to parking spillover concerns in residential neighborhoods. A common form of RPP allows residents to purchase stickers that permit unlimited on-street parking but imposes short time limits on nonresident parkers. These programs succeed in general to protect on-street spaces for residents but raise concerns about costs, enforcement difficulties, and inefficiencies if parking goes unused. The concept also raises issues about the equity of favoring resident parkers over others. New technologies (e.g., license plate readers, variable pricing, pay-by-phone systems) may provide new forms of residential parking management to upgrade or replace the older programs. The study presented in this paper developed a set of metrics to evaluate the success of RPP programs. The metrics were applied to a case study of parking in three residential neighborhoods on the south side of Berkeley, California, adjacent to several activity centers, which included three shopping corridors and the University of California’s Berkeley campus. At the time of the study, the parking system in Berkeley’s residential neighborhoods allowed nonresidents to park for up to 2 h, free of charge, while residents with a city-issued sticker displayed on their vehicles could park for unlimited amounts of time. This design was one commonly used in residential parking policy. The study found that this system worked well for residents but limited availability for nonresidents who had justifiable reasons to park on the neighborhood streets. Many blocks within the study area were underused, and, in this context, the introduction of longer-term pay parking for nonresidents in the residential neighborhood was found to be a better alternative to RPP.

• Record URL:
  https://doi.org/10.3141/2469-03
• Availability:
  • Find a library where document is available. Order URL: http://worldcat.org/isbn/9780309295642
• Authors:
  • Moylan, Emily
  • Schabas, Matthew
  • Deakin, Elizabeth
• Publication Date: 2014

Language

• English

Media Info

• Media Type: Print
• Features: Figures; Maps; References; Tables;
• Pagination: pp 23–31
• Monograph Title: Demand Management, Parking, Taxis, and Accessible Transportation and Mobility
• Serial:
  • Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board
  • Issue Number: 2469
  • Publisher: Transportation Research Board
  • ISSN: 0361-1981

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Automatic license plate readers; Costs; Evaluation and assessment; On street parking; Permit parking; Pricing; Residential areas
• Geographic Terms: Berkeley (California)
• Subject Areas: Highways; Operations and Traffic Management; Policy; I72: Traffic and Transport Planning;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01515553
• Record Type: Publication
• ISBN: 9780309295642
• Report/Paper Numbers: 14-4129
• Files: PRP, TRIS, TRB, ATRI
• Created Date: Feb 24 2014 8:43AM