Beijing-parking-ITDP-China

Based on the policies and surveys, this chapteranalyses the parking problems in Beijing.4.1 Parking strategies andpoliciesWith fast growing car ownership, parking hasquickly become a major problem for Beijing.Some of the parking policies are good, but actualimplementation of these policies has not happenedor is poorly executed. There is no publictransport priority when buses are stuck in trafficjams caused by private car use. Some policiescontradict each other: guiding car traffic awayfrom central areas cannot be achieved when abundantoff-street parking is supplied in central areas.High parking prices, with differentiations perarea, are good on paper, but in reality drivers paymuch less as they negotiate prices with the parkingguards. A parking cap in the city center wasnever implemented, nor was the use of moderntechnology for on-street parking. Attractingprivate investment in off-street parking supplyhas proven unrealistic when drivers can park forfree on streets because paid parking is lacking orillegal parking not enforced.Other policies such as P+R facilities are costlywith only limited effects. The Liufang P+R parkingwas heavily used by residents and employeesliving and working in the vicinity, but not byanyone who used the metro. P+R facilities requirevast amounts of land in expensive areas (given itsproximity to metro stations) that should ratherbe used for transit-oriented development (TOD).Furthermore, besides the investment costs forhaving these facilities built, the city governmentdaily spends 6.89 RMB per P+R space to subsidizeoperational costs of P+R spaces, totaling to 25million RMB in 2014.Instead of using parking as a tool to restrictcar use, especially in central areas, Beijing governmentshave rather sought to solve parkingproblems by increasing the supply of off-streetparking. There are three major problems with thisapproach.1. The government is not responsible for theprovision of ample parkingA parking space is a commodity, not a fundamentalright. The government is not responsible forproviding ample parking to residents. Instead, thegovernment is responsible for well-organized trafficand streets, if possible with on-street parking,and the provision of transport systems, includingpublic transport and walking and cycling infrastructure.It is also responsible for setting the rightpolicies for off-street parking supply in which realestate developers and private investors play animportant role. Finding a parking space is mainlythe driver’s own responsibility and the space isto be rented from the government (on-street) orbuilding operator (private off-street) at a pricethat reflects its value and enforces the government’stargets for traffic reduction.It is important to realizethat a parking space is acommodity, not a fundamentalright. An onstreetparking space ison government land andessentially belongs to allpeople. The governmentcan decide to allocatestreet space for on-streetparking, but that needsto come at a price (rent)to its users. It is not thegovernment’s responsibilityto provide everyonewith a parking space.Beijing Parking, ITDP-China 911 March 2015