Beijing-parking-ITDP-China

6.1 Parking zonesThe lack of coherent pricing of parking in Beijing,where some streets are priced and others are notand shown with the surveys in chapter 3, lead todrivers cruising around to find parking spaceswithout charge. It is recommended to developon-street parking zones in which all streets whereparking is allowed to be priced according theprice of the zone in which they are located. Thezone and its borders should be chosen in the mostcentral and highest-demand areas where parkingproblems are worst, in order to lure drivers awayfrom these valuable areas. Signs should indicate todrivers when entering an on-street parking zoneor switching between one. Under supervision of acentral city government, and with assistance fromplanning & design institutes, district governmentsneed to carry out studies into parking demand,occupancy and turnover to identify which arearequire higher pricing than other areas.Following what international best practice prescribesand European cities practice, it is recommendedto implement paid on-street parking inareas where occupancies exceed 70% during peakdemand hours (including illegal parking). Theaim is to achieve 85-90% occupancy of on-streetparking spaces during peak demand hours. At thisoccupancy rate most parking is used but somespaces are still available, reducing cruising to aminimum. Other factors such as existing trafficcongestion and high-importance areas (businessdistricts, historical and tourist areas, etc.) are alsofactors that should be taken into considerationwhen defining zones and their borders. It requiresextensive, detailed studies into the parking occupanciesfor the entire city, but it is expectedthat Beijing needs to charge for parking in mostof the area within the 5th ring roads and in someareas beyond that. Every district in Beijing wouldhave at least a few areas where another one ortwo zones with a higher parking price. Parkingzones are by no means static though. Manyfactors, which change over time, influence parkingdemand and zones and prices should changealong to stay in line with the target occupancyrates. By expanding and adjusting the zones andprices according to parking demand, the parkingproblems of Beijing are gradually being solved.6.2 Parking priceThe parking prices set out by the Development& Reform Committee are mostly not followed.Illegal parking is poorly enforced, resulting inmany drivers who park for free on streets, sidewalksand setbacks. Those who do pay can oftenmake a deal with parking guards, especially forlong term parking.The price for on-street parking needs to beduration-based with no discounts given forSigns indicate drivers they are entering the on-streetparking zone in Budapest. The paid parking hours andthree-hour time limit, as well as a restrictions to truckaccess over 3.5 tons are shown.Source: ITDP-China, www.transportphoto.net, 2012Beijing Parking, ITDP-China 1201 March 2015