Parking – or people?

Want your city to thrive? Start by rethinking parking lots.

The topic of excessive parking was covered in a recent StrongTowns newsletter. Yeah. We get it. it seems like there is never enough parking available in Asbury Park. Whether you drive, walk, or roll the subject of parking is fraught with misunderstanding, and sometimes triggering.

Read on.

The Washington Post opinion piece (gift article) on March 27th about the damaging effects of excessive surface parking lots in our cities describes the problem:

Surface parking lots eat up people space. “They’re often large fields of empty space,” says Derek Hoetmer, founding principal at urban design firm MCLV, “contributing nothing beyond the sole purpose of storing personal property (cars). They lack the ingredients of what makes cities great: a sense of place.”

“These micro wastelands drain the life from neighborhoods, blighting American cities. It’s time we imagine better.”

Did you know that there are 8 parking spaces for every car in the US?

America has eight parking spaces for every car.

Cities like Buffalo are getting rid of parking minimums and changing zoning, which opens up valuable space.

Many former parking lots are turning into housing. (Some are also becoming parks, in cities including Dallas and Detroit; in San Diego, part of one parking lot has been restored to a salt marsh.)  As cities realize that they’ve built more parking than they need, dozens have eliminated parking requirements in new buildings, as described in this Fast Company article.

Excessive property dedicated to parking also has a negative effect on kids’ health. There’s a short anecdote in the WP article about kids playing in an empty parking lot being kicked off the property. A bank that owned the lot didn’t want the liability. The lot has been vacant, and unused for years; but this use of empty space for play could not be permitted.

Advocates for open streets and open playgrounds know that if cities aren’t built with the health, development, and independence of kids in mind, the  result is an insidious public health emergency.

School playgrounds should be open off school hours, public parks should have active play equipment, and parking lots can be repurposed as play spaces for kids and families.

Psychologist Jonathan Haidt talks about the great rewiring of childhood in his new book, The Anxious Generation

Haidt says childhood is increasingly being spent in virtual worlds rather than the real one, and early years are so solitary, sedentary, and coddled.

For the first time — maybe in history? — a middle-aged man is more likely to be admitted to the hospital for unintentional injuries than a boy aged 10-19.

 

The move from a play-based childhood to a device-based one has contributed to an epidemic of obesity, and mental illness among young people, especially girls. The rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and even suicide are skyrocketing. There are other related factors, including what Haidt describes as “collapse of adult solidarity”

Matt Levy’s 2010 documentary, New York Street Games opens with the words: “Before cellphones, BlackBerries and Facebook . . . before a neighbor’s doorstep required an invitation . . . before ‘playdates,’ there was play.”

There’s been a decline in outdoor activities since the 1970s. Bike riding to school is down 31% since 1995, according to American Sports Data, a research firm. Only 6% of children ages nine to 13 play outside on their own. Kids in low-income communities, are spending 40 hours a week with electronic media, according to the Kaiser Foundation.

“I worry that we’re going to be a society in 50 years of computer kids, people who are desensitized to other human beings,” said Levy. “If I start using technology to talk to you on a full-time basis, that’s a problem.”

 

 

 

Mayors: Cities Unsafe for Pedestrians, Cyclists, But Cars Rule

There is plenty of evidence showing that lowering speed limits and reducing the availability of parking makes roads safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and drivers, according to this survey. Research suggests that even high-density cities have too much parking that’s priced too cheaply.  We believe that residents and visitors are wiling to support Asbury Park becoming a truly people-oriented city, by implementing plans to prioritize people over cars: Asbury Park Plan for Walking and Biking.

It’s not an easy process even in a small city, with overarching state regulations and outmoded engineering practices.  City leaders and our Transportation Manager, with the support of Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition are taking steps to enable visitors and residents to get around safely without cars by reducing speed limits, creating traffic calming devices, better infrastructure for biking and walking, and offering alternative transportation.

Boston University’s Initiative on Cities (IoC) was released on Tuesday, January 21, in Washington, D.C.  The annual report collects data from interviews with more than 100 mayors across the country about their most pressing concerns and provides insight into the problems they’re grappling with.

Now in its sixth year, the 2019 IoC survey asked mayors for the first time about the extent to which they are taking up the call, from cyclist and pedestrian advocates as well as many transportation experts and urban planners, to reorient their cities away from cars.

Mayors Say Their Cities Are Unsafe for Pedestrians, Cyclists—but Cars Still Rule

Highlights from annual BU-led 2019 Menino Survey of Mayors

January 21, 2020 Sara Rimer

“When city leaders make it easier to park, they encourage car commuting,” the survey authors write, citing The High Cost of Free Parking (Routledge, 2005) by Donald Shoup, a UCLA professor. “This both worsens congestion and creates a constituency of regular drivers who demand more parking, resulting in a potent political obstacle to reforming urban parking systems.”

Although mayors broadly support bicycle lanes, they may not be aware of current best practices in cycling infrastructure design, according to the survey. While the most recent analyses show that painted bike lanes may make conditions more dangerous for cyclists, a striking 82 percent of mayors believe that painted bicycle lanes are a safe alternative when physically separate bicycle lanes are too expensive.

“The evidence suggests that paint alone—either in separate or shared bicycle lanes—does not improve cyclist safety,” the survey says.

A few mayors acknowledged the problem. “Painted bicycle lanes are useless,” one mayor told interviewers. “They’ve got to be separate.”

Read this comprehensive story:

https://www.bu.edu/articles/2020/mayors-say-their-cities-are-unsafe-for-pedestrians-cyclists-but-cars-still-rule/

 

Transit-Oriented Development – Asbury Park Gets It Done!

Mike Manzella, Asbury Park’s Transportation Manager and Deputy City Manager has 10 great tips for cities to move toward less car dependency. Transit Oriented Development is “typically mixed-use and dense, providing residents amenities in close proximity. The goal is to create livable and sustainable places in which people can live, work, and play all in the same community, without requiring the use of a car.” Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition thanks Mike for the shout out in tip number 8.  We’re so fortunate to have a solid working relationship with our Transportation Manager, and great communication with our city leaders! Asbury Park is getting it done!

8. Work with advocates.

“The City works closely with local advocates on transportation issues, including the Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition. The Coalition has been instrumental in educating the public about alternate modes of transportation and bike-ped safety. The Coalition participated as a stakeholder committee member in the preparation of a Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan adopted by the City in April 2019. Among the plan’s recommendations is a proposed bicycle network that Mike says is crucial to getting more people to ride bikes and do so safely. Mike keeps in frequent contact with the group and attends the Coalition’s monthly meetings and bike rides.”

TOD Mobility: Asbury Park’s Greatest Hits

The City of Asbury Park, and the City’s Director of Transportation Michael Manzella (second from left, first row), are working to provide residents and visitors with convenient and sustainable ways of getting around town. Photo Credit: Michael Manzella

Monthly Slow Roll Bike Ride, Springwood Park, Feb. 16, 2020

Strolling in Asbury Park near the Carousel and Casino, summer 2019

1. Bike-ped investments spur development of vibrant, unique, and unforgettable places.

Asbury Park is making major investments in transportation to catalyze development. Specifically, the City is investing in multi-modal transportation to catalyze compact, mixed-use, walkable, transit-friendly development.

Read more!

http://www.njtod.org/tod-mobility-asbury-parks-greatest-hits/

Keep The City Moving With Less Parking And More Bicycle Infrastructure

The UK and US are similar in the prioritization of motor vehicles over other modes of transportation, including walking, bicycling, and mass transit, leading to a national health crisis in both countries. “Physical inactivity are responsible for one in six deaths, and one in four adults are obese.” The use of fossil fuels and emissions causes an increase in asthma and other respiratory health issues, and pedestrian and bicyclist deaths by automobile are at epic proportions. But in many cities these issues have not led to a sense of urgency to build more/better infrastructure for walking and bicycling, especially if city leaders and business owners promote the fear that the loss of parking and reduced flow of automobiles will negatively impact the local economy. This has been proven wrong again and again.  Asbury Park’s city leaders understand the urgency and are working to create a truly walkable and bike-able city. This article illustrates how “Offering people good, reliable alternatives to the car is the key to keeping the city moving.”

Nottingham’s Workplace Parking Levy Creates Jobs, Cuts Car Use and Slashes Pollution

Carlton Reid 

October 17, 2019

“Legislation passed last week will allow Scottish cities to implement workplace parking levies and spend the proceeds on cycling infrastructure and improved public transit. Glasgow and Edinburgh could lead the charge, and they would be doing so thanks to the example shown by Nottingham in England, which has had a workplace levy since 2012, a scheme which has so far raised £61 million and which the council spends on measures to reduce car use.”

“Council leader David Mellen told the Financial Times that the parking levy was controversial when first proposed: “The chamber of commerce was dead against it. They said businesses would leave Nottingham, and investors would not come.” The opposite happened. Since 2012 the number of businesses in the city has increased by almost a quarter. There has been a net increase of 23,400 jobs.”

Read about it:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carltonreid/2019/10/17/nottinghams-workplace-parking-levy-creates-jobs-cuts-car-use-and-slashes-pollution/#168d78e439fb

Scooters Make Parking Easier in Asbury Park

Over 35,000 people attended the huge Sea.Hear.Now music festival. There was no parking allowed anywhere near the venue, and visitors found ways to get there, parking off site (way off site!), riding thousands of bikes, scooters, jitneys, walking, or using car-share.

The problem in cities all over the US isn’t lack of parking, it’s #toomanycars. Micromobility can solve the problem, in addition to banning cars from city centers entirely, making cities safer/saving lives, and improving business, by creating a people centered environment.

From Alexandria, VA to Barcelona and beyond, the newest microbility option is scooters. Improved infrastructure on streets for bikes and scooters is making Asbury Park a world-class, people-centric city.

Here’s why it’s now easier to find parking in Asbury

Steve Strunsky | NJ Advance Media for NJ.com

Parking areas for the orange e-scooters in Asbury Park are typically located on sidewalks or other areas off the street in order not to take up increasingly hard-to-find parking spaces for cars.

In a survey of scooter riders, 33% said they would have used their car if not for the program, which is how officials arrived at the estimate for car-trips avoided. And 31% said they had not ridden a bicycle in at least a year, meaning the scooter program is not displacing bike use, at least not among many riders.

While the booming waterfront is Asbury’s most congested and parking-starved area, Manzella noted that e-scooters are intended for, and used by, people throughout the city. That includes the west side, where real estate development, tourism and other economic activity has lagged far behind the city’s waterfront and downtown restaurant district.

Read more…

https://www.nj.com/monmouth/2019/10/finding-parking-in-asbury-is-getting-easier-you-can-thank-e-scooters-for-that.html

Asbury Pod #4: Diana Pittet Distilled Spirits Expert, Plus Scooters And Bikes

Asbury Pod #4: Diana Pittet

58 MINS JUL 22

Asbury Pod Episode July 22nd featuring Diana Pittet expert in distilled spirits and avid bike rider. Discussion this month about Asbury Park transportation issues including parking, scooters, valet parking and bikes…hear a shout out to Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition at around 23:40.

Listen here:

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/asbury-pod/e/62721418

News: Electric Scooters And Valet Parking!

Asbury Park Complete Streets Coalition says YES to mobility options like scooters, which will get people out of cars, reduce congestion in the city, and provide transportation for people who don’t own cars .

Asbury Park Transportation News!


The City of Asbury Park released its Summer 2019 transportation updates Friday.

“This summer, the City launches an electric scooter program, downtown receives a valet parking service, an additional parking payment app becomes available, and the new Guest Parking Permit program was introduced,” a written news statement said.

Read more:  http://asburyparksun.com/electric-scooters-valet-parking-on-the-horizon/

 

 

Asbury Pod: Great Interview with Asbury Park Transportation Manager

Asbury Pod episode #3, Transportation, starting around 19:00 ’til around 1:02:00.  Asbury Park Transportation Manager, Mike Manzella, Deputy Mayor Amy Quinn, and Joe Walsh get down into issues like parking, scooters, how to make a walkable and bikeable city, transit, and the rising numbers of automobile/pedestrian and cyclist fatalities across the US.

Thanks for a great in-depth interview!

Listen:

https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/asbury-pod/e/62425309

Parking Revolution

Would this be a revolution in Asbury Park?  “We need more parking!” is the familiar refrain. The fact is that we can’t create more parking. We have #toomanycars. The best ways to reduce the use of, and need for cars in any city is to reduce the availability of parking, and make it less desirable to drive. The solution is to make it more desirable to use alternative transportation, walk or bike. “Talkin’ ’bout a revolution…”

A Modest Proposal to Eliminate 11,000 Urban Parking Spots

Feargus O’Sullivan Mar 29, 2019

Amsterdam plans to systematically strip its center of parking spaces in the coming years, making way for bike lanes, sidewalks, and more trees.

A woman parks her bike beneath boxes of daffodils on a bridge in Amsterdam, Netherlands April 22, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Coombs – RC190EAE23D0

This week, Amsterdam is taking its reputation for pro-bike, anti-car polices one step further by announcing that it will systematically strip its inner city of parking spaces.

Amsterdam transit commissioner Sharon Dijksma announced Thursday that starting this summer, the city plans to reduce the number of people permitted to park in the city core by around 1,500 per year. These people already require a permit to access a specific space (and the cost for that permit will also rise), and so by reducing these permits steadily in number, the city will also remove up to 11,200 parking spaces from its streets by the end of 2025.

https://www.citylab.com/transportation/2019/03/amsterdam-cars-parking-spaces-bike-lanes-trees-green-left/586108/

Congestion Pricing Is A Great Idea…It’s About Time

We’ve hit peak car. People are complaining about traffic, and lack of parking in Asbury Park and in cities all over the US.  Building wider roads was never a good idea (induced demand), and it isn’t feasible or economically a great idea to build more parking (Cities are eliminating parking.) Maybe car culture in the US is about to change.

The Streets Were Never Free. Congestion Pricing Finally Makes That Plain.

The policy could change not just traffic, but also how we think about the infrastructure cars require.

By Emily Badger April 4th, 2019

The idea of the open road evokes these intertwined meanings: The freedom to use it should be free. Residential street parking should be free. Traffic lanes should be free. Stretches of public curb dedicated to private driveways? Those should be free, too.

In other ways, the government has heavily subsidized driving, or hidden the reality of who pays for it in places no one sees. Local laws require off-street parking from businesses and housing developers, who pass on the construction cost of it to tenants and customers who may not drive at all.

Read the article:

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/04/upshot/the-streets-were-never-free-congestion-pricing-finally-makes-that-plain.html