On Street Parking on State Roads

• Authored by:  V. Sisiopiku

Sisiopiku, V. “On Street Parking on State Roads,” ITE Annual Meeting Compendium, Institute of Transportation Engineers (2001)

This report provides information on anticipated impacts from changing traffic lanes into on-street parking, together with recommendations on where this action should be considered. The research involved a thorough survey of the current state of the practice regarding placement and management of on-street parking via an extensive literature review, telephone survey, and field reviews. The objectives of the project include: 1. Review of published research on parking policies, practices, and evaluation studies; 2. Collection and synthesis of information on state-of-practice; and 3. Development of recommendations for appropriate use of on-street parking on the state trunkline system. The focus of the literature search was on the impacts from the conversion of traffic lanes into onstreet parking on capacity, safety, accessibility, development and economic growth, traffic calming, and the environment. The paper also examined the effect of on-street parking design on traffic operations and safety.

      Information that was solicited during interviews of state, county, and municipal agencies, neighborhood associations, and community-based groups included the following:

a. Availability of policies or guidelines on describing conditions that warrant permitted parking on state-numbered routes;

b. Reasons for implementing the conversion strategy and anticipated payoffs;

c. Documented results from the evaluation of the performance of on-street parking with respect to traffic safety and operations;

d. Subjective comments on the performance of on-street parking, including qualitative benefits and observed problems;

e. Practical guides that were supported by experience as to where it is appropriate to proceed with the conversion; and

f. Identification of problems resulting from the conversion and countermeasures implemented (if any) to address them.

The report concludes with guidelines and recommendations regarding the conditions under which the use of on-street parking on the state trunkline appears as a reasonable or desirable implementation action.