Reducing Congestion through Parking Policies Allison Yoh Presentation to the Senate Transportation and Housing Committee February 24, 2008

A8054-b-2 11/08 Moving Los Angeles: Short-Term Policy Options for Improving Transportation Study completed in Dec 2008 Strategies within 5 years Resulted in 13 strategies for managing congestion, including parking

A8054-b-3 11/08 L.A. Congestion Is the Worst in the Nation Congestion costs Los Angeles $9.2 billion annually in wasted fuel and time Annual delay per peak-hour driver in largest U.S. metropolitan areas Annual hours of delay Washington, DC

A8054-b-4 11/08 Manage demand and raise revenue through pricing Improve alternative transportation Maximize the efficiency of existing road capacity Our Findings Suggest the Need for Several Policies that Complement One Another Recommended Policy Framework

A8054-b-5 11/08 Other Modes Other Times Most Available Strategies Become Less Effective Over Time Other Routes Congestion This is often called “triple convergence” New / Enhanced Capacity Congestion

A8054-b-6 11/08 Why Pricing Is Critical Pricing raises the cost of driving and discourages the over-consumption of road and parking capacity Pricing makes drivers pay the true cost of auto travel  more efficient use of existing capacity Proper pricing provides a signal when it is efficient to build more parking Pricing raises revenue for needed investments

A8054-b-7 11/08 Parking-Related Recommendations Eliminate curb parking during peak hours –With active enforcement, can improve arterial travel speed by 10 percent (Kumar 2007) Variable curb-parking rates –Can reduce traffic volumes in commercial and retail districts by 30 percent on average, and by up to 90 percent in one instance (Shoup 1997) Parking cash-out –Can shift 15 percent of employees to alternative modes (Shoup 1997)

A8054-b-8 11/08 Controversial, with Compelling Benefits Is viewed with skepticism because it is unfamiliar –But it is extremely cost-effective to implement May create financial difficulties for lower-income drivers who are unable to shift their travel patterns –But revenues can be used for alternatives, and –Unbundling parking can reduce housing costs Is difficult to justify to constituents –But can be implemented widely (equitably) –And revenues can be returned to localities

A8054-b-10 11/08 Our Study Offers Several Key Messages Traffic is severe and likely to worsen A comprehensive strategy is needed to manage both supply of infrastructure and demand for travel Most efforts implemented to date have been relatively “easy” Managing demand is key Pricing is the best option for managing demand

A8054-b-11 11/08 Growth in Automotive Travel Has Far Outpaced Growth in Lane Miles U.S. Growth in Lane Miles, Population, VMT, and GDP Since 1970

A8054-b-12 11/08 There Are Many Ways to Reduce Congestion Enhance road capacity Build new roads Use existing roads more efficiently Reduce peak-hour driving Voluntary measures Regulatory measures Pricing strategies Improve alternatives to driving

A8054-b-13 11/08 Greater Population Density Leads to Greater Traffic Congestion As population density increases, individuals tend to drive less But there are also more individuals competing for the same road space Cities can add more roads to support more drivers, but eventually will run out of space for new roads Net effect: very dense regions typically suffer the most intense traffic congestion

A8054-b-14 11/08 RAND Developed 10 Primary Recommendations Primary Recommendations 1Improve signal timing and control where deficient 2Restrict curb parking on busy thoroughfares 3Create a network of paired one-way streets 4Support voluntary employer trip reduction programs 5Develop a network of HOT lanes 6Implement variable curb parking rates 7Enforce state’s employer parking cash-out law 8Promote deep-discounted transit passes 9Expand bus rapid transit with bus-only lanes 10Implement a regionally connected bicycle network

A8054-b-15 11/08 The Recommendations Support Each Other in Three Critical Ways Funding Ability to pay Competition for road space

A8054-b-16 11/08 Our Study Offers Several Key Messages L.A. traffic is severe and likely to worsen Prospects for increasing road supply are limited Managing demand is key for Los Angeles Pricing is the best option for managing demand Los Angeles needs a set of complementary strategies Consensus building will be crucial to success

A8054-b-17 11/08 Could This Be a Historic Juncture for Los Angeles? Growing public frustration Local elected leaders open to innovative solutions Local community leaders supporting elected officials Implementation of aggressive policy reforms Dramatic results Reduced traffic congestion Better transportation options

A8054-b-18 11/08 RAND Assessed Short-Term Strategies for Reducing Congestion in Los Angeles Quantified and diagnosed L.A. traffic Identified available short-term strategies Evaluated their strengths and weaknesses Developed integrated strategies for Los Angeles Outlined options to help build consensus

A8054-b-19 11/08 Solving Congestion Is Challenging Congestion is a long-standing problem, and most of the “easy” solutions are already implemented Congestion would be much worse if not for efforts of the region’s transportation agencies But we now face more difficult choices

A8054-b-20 11/08 Freeway Congestion Pervades L.A. County

A8054-b-21 11/08 Arterial Congestion Is Heavy on the Westside

A8054-b-22 11/08 Its Suburbs Make Los Angeles the Densest Region in the Country The New York and San Francisco urbanized areas look like Hong Kong surrounded by Phoenix. The Los Angeles urbanized area looks like Los Angeles surrounded by… well, Los Angeles. – Manville and Shoup (2005) High regional population density helps explain the severity of L.A. traffic congestion

A8054-b-23 11/08 L.A. Congestion Is Further Exacerbated by Higher than Expected Per-Capita Driving Population per square mile Daily VMT per capita Dallas Detroit Houston Atlanta Phoenix Seattle San Francisco Washington, DC Boston Philadelphia Miami Chicago New York High population density, low per capita driving Low population density, high per capita driving High population density, high per capita driving Los Angeles

A8054-b-24 11/08 Why Do Angelenos Drive So Much? Multiple urban centers –Foster travel patterns that are more convenient by car –Make it harder to create a well connected network of fast, convenient transit service Abundant inexpensive parking

A8054-b-25 11/08 We Considered a Broad Range of Criteria to Evaluate Available Strategies

A8054-b-26 11/08 Los Angeles Has a Very Dense Road Network Washington, DC Lane miles per square mile

A8054-b-27 11/08 Fuel Tax Revenue Shortfalls Limit Further Investment in New Infrastructure