Kevin Warwood over at parkingithere blog is musing over a problem he has in his home town of Christchurch, NZ. After a devastating earthquake, the city found that it had tons of parking, but no place for the people to go when they had parked — the central business district had been destroyed. Certain areas on the edge of the city were jammed, but downtown the concept of 85% occupancy was the top end. Read his comments here.
Basically he says that you divide the city up into zones and treat each one differently, depending on the amount of available parking. He has other ideas, but in the end, he points out that one of the best things to do is remove supply, ie, turn some of the excess parking into something else, (parks, art, whatever). Then you can raise the prices, and get back on an even keel.
Smart guy, this Kevin…
JVH
