Beijing-parking-ITDP-China

where no off-street parking exists, then a cappednumber of permits needs to be found (basedon available spaces) for which residents need toapply. The government should set strict criteriasuch as maximum 1 permit per family, no outstandingfines, yearly renewal and a fee.8.3 Institutional changesParking responsibilities are scattered amongdifferent government divisions. The implementationof a parking reform commission, composedof stakeholders from all of Beijing’s organizationsinvolved in parking and supervised by theMayor, is recommended. High-level officialsfrom the Communication Commission, PlanningCommission, Traffic Police, Beijing MunicipalDevelopment and Reform Commission, UrbanManagement Office, Construction Commissionand Industrial&Commercial Bureau need tobe hired part-time to work with the Mayor oncomprehensive on-street and off-street parkingreform and part-time with each of their bureausto implement the policies set forth under thenew commission. This department can also assistdistrict governments with parking expertise andassistance in implementation on district level.Having Mayor’s approval is crucial in beingable to align all agencies in formulating holistic,comprehensive parking policies and create theenvironment for successful demonstration implementationand scale-up.parking revenue is used to fund Freedom Pass—aprogram that gives free transit tickets to theelderly (60+) and disabled.8.5 LeviesProviding off-street parking spaces at destinations,like offices and shopping centers, influencesmode choice. If more parking spaces are provided,more people are incentivized to drive thererather than take public transport, walk or cycle.Besides restricting off-street parking supply withmaximum parking standards, the governmentcan also decide to levy fees for each off-streetparking space provided to employees or shoppers.In the United Kingdom companies can be taxedfor spaces provided at work sites. Municipalitiesacross the UK are ready to charge up to £250 peryear, as has been proposed in Nottingham beginningin 2012, for a parking space at a work site.8.4 Ring-fencingRather than depositing parking profits into a generalfund it is strongly recommended to ringfenceparking profits to finance alternative sustainabletransport projects like public transport, NMT,bike sharing and public space improvements.Buy-in from drivers and local stakeholders can beearned with this type of initiative because driverscan see where their parking fee goes and that it isspent on transportation improvements and localstakeholders see improvements come to theirneighborhoods. In Barcelona, 100% of parkingfees are used to support Bicing—the city’s bikesharing program arranged as a public-privatepartnership with ClearChannel. In the Londonborough of Kensington and Chelsea, 12% ofBeijing Parking, ITDP-China 1591 March 2015