Parking in the City

This paper provides insight into the magnitude of the freight parking problem in large urban areas and the effectiveness of alternative solution strategies. The paper estimates the demand for parking through the use of freight trip generation estimates and estimates the supply of parking on the basis of curb space. The paper discusses strategies for the management of freight parking demand developed by governmental agencies and other organizations. In addition, the paper proposes an approximate methodology to quantify freight parking demand and on-street parking availability. Parking demand is expressed as a function of the freight trip generation of individual establishments, and parking availability is estimated to be a function of curb space dimensions and commercial vehicle characteristics. Empirical findings are provided. New York City is used as a case study. From the analyses and results, the paper provides a set of policy recommendations to help mitigate the identified issues.