Beijing-parking-ITDP-China

7.1 Abolish parkingminimums for newdevelopmentsBeijing currently uses parking minimums for newdevelopments. Parking minimums, especially forresidential land use, are not high, compared toother Chinese cities, but are likely to rise in theforthcoming updates to the parking standard.Minimums require developers to build moreparking than would often be needed. This wasproven with the surveys at residential, commercialand office parking garages, as presented in chapter3. at By doing so, they build costly parking thatsits empty and encourages residents to drive.Minimum parking regulations impose majorsocietal costs and undermine efforts to createbalanced, sustainable transportation systems.Minimum parking regulations create a cycle thatencourages car transportation, and, in turn, influencespublic authorities to require more parking.This analysis is strengthened by a New Yorkstudy which found that accessory parking at homeis more likely to generate auto commutes thanother factors including household income, autoownership or a host of other things usually associatedwith the decision to drive (ITDP, 2010).Minimum parking regulations reduce density,increase distances between destinations, reduceland values and increases traffic congestion, airpollution, and construction costs, as well as discouragingwalking, bicycling and public transport.Minimum parking requirements are especiallydamaging to central business districts (CBDs).Many developers worldwide acknowledge thisand negotiate with the government to build lessparking than required to prevent having to passthe cost of expensive parking on to buyers andtenants.Construction of underground parking spacesin China costs approximately 3,000 RMB/m2(Cutian City Newspaper, 2014). With an undergroundparking spaces requiring 30-40m2, thetotal costs per space are 90,000-120,000 RMB perparking space and operational costs are approximately240RMB per month (Guangzhou PriceBureau Cost Survey Team, 2013).7.2 Implement parkingmaximumsIt is recommended for Beijing to change parkingminimums into parking maximums. Minimumparking standards ‘lock in’ driving into the urbanfabric whereas parking maximums are a powerfultool to control the number of parking spacesand put a hold on dramatic vehicle growth. Itlets developers decide the appropriate number ofparking spaces reasonably needed, within maximumsdefined by the government, and reducesland and costs associated with excessive parkingsupply. These maximums are based on roadcapacity, public transport access and livabilityfactors like air quality. Developers are in favor ofthese regulations, as it lowers unnecessary coststo their development, thereby increasing theirlikeliness of selling apartments and increasingtheir profitability.Cities that have successfully solved parkingproblems and have successful urban developmenthave taken a restrictive approach to parkingsupply and implemented parking maximums.Buildings do not necessarily need parking, butrather good access. This access can be providedwith high-quality public transport and NMTfacilities, which have much less or no negativeimpact on traffic and air quality. For instance, thehighest-value office and commercial building inLondon has no parking places at all, only somefor handicapped, motorbikes and bicycles. Threemetro stations are located within 500 meter fromthe building and three more within 1 kilometer.This shows parking often does not add value butextra costs to a building. London implemented aparking maximums for offices at 1 parking spaceper 1,000-1,500m2 of office space. Many cities,including Japanese, also exempt small buildings(under 1,500m2) from mandatory parkingconstruction. Other European capitals like Paris(France) and Budapest (Hungary) have lower(down to zero) maximums for developers, whenthe development is close to public transport. Inreturn the developers need to co-finance publictransportation to the development (which alsobenefits the developer since it raises its value).In China, Shenzhen is the first to implementmaximum standards for parking supply in newdevelopments. The Shenzhen Urban PlanningStandards and Guidelines (2014), defined by theBeijing Parking, ITDP-China 1461 March 2015