PLANNING RAIL STATION PARKING: APPROACH AND APPLICATION

The efforts of the Northeast Corridor Improvement Project to revitalize passenger railroad service have entailed planning numerous station improvements such as accommodating increased passenger parking requirements. Results of studies of 3 of the 11 stations along the corridor that are being upgraded to high-speed rail requirements are reported in this paper. A compendium of parking characteristics to enable planning officials to better assess the needs of rail passenger parkers is included. Topics covered are parking demand estimates, pasenger trip characteristics, and fiscal considerations of providing parking at rail stations. Planning guidelines of 0.28 spaces/daily boarding Amtrak passenger and 0.32/commuter passenger are suggested. The need for subsidization to make planned parking facilities economically feasible is also emphasized. /Author/