Beijing-parking-ITDP-China

on ring roads), on streets with high pedestrianvolumes such as shopping streets and on streetswhere traffic demand reaches road capacity orbike lane have priority. More street design recommendationsare given in the section on parkingdesign.On-street parking spaces are meant for shorttermparking and high turnover of parking spacesis needed to provide vacant spaces for thoseparking short-term and come for short shoppingtrips, business meetings, lunch, etc. Central zonesof on-street parking system in European thereforeoften apply time limits of 30 minutes to maximumthree hours. Hong Kong uses 2 hour This is alsorecommended for Beijing as an effective meansto increase turnover and vacancy of on-streetparking spaces. Time limits especially preventcommuters from parking on-street. In areaswhere plenty off-street parking spaces are vacant,time limits stimulate long-term parkers to parkoff-street.6.4 Parking technologyNo technology is used for on-street parking inBeijing. The government, responsible for safeand effective streets, bike lanes and sidewalks,has no information on the parking behaviour ofBeijing’s drivers. Parking demand, occupancies,turnover and revenue are unknown. As shownearlier, parking has a major impact on the liveabilityof the city and the effectiveness of its roadsand transport system. It is impossible to achievesuccessful transport demand management (TDM)without having basic data on parking behaviour.The implementation of a regulated on-street parkingsystem gives the government the opportunityto obtain these data and have control over parkingand traffic in the central areas of Beijing. Withthese data appropriate parking prices can be setand parking policies, regulations and restrictionsexplained, monitored and improved. Moreoverhigh-technology makes revenues transparentand separates parking payment from parkinginspection, leaving no possibilities for ‘leakage’ ofparking revenue.Furthermore the use of technology can createbetter service to drivers, who also ‘get somethingin return’ for paying a parking fee. Such benefitsinclude multiple payment options, pay-perminuterather than event, customer service andTime limit of two hours displayed on an on-streetparking meter in New York.guidance to vacant parking spaces.Such technology requires more investment upfrontbut over the long-term is more cost-effectivefrom both the government and operator’s pointof view. More important, such a system providesexceptionally valuable information for the citygovernment on parking and traffic that wouldnot be obtained with manual payment at parkingguards or traditional parking meters.Modern on-street parking management is muchmore than installing parking meters on the streets.Parking management includes the following tasks:●●procuring, operating and maintaining parkingpayment machines and other hardware (e.g.cell phone payment)●●checking of parked cars and parking spacesand troubleshooting●●communicating clearly with drivers, includinginstalling signs and supplementary information(traffic signs, road markings)●●enforcing parking regulations, includingfining and fee collection●●analysing the parking data from operation(occupancies, turnover, revenue, etc.) andcity-wide data to improve operations andensure good service to drivers. This is also includes(real-time) sharing of this informationBeijing Parking, ITDP-China 1241 March 2015