Tuesdays at APA: Parking Management Strategies to Support Livable Communities

April 22, 2014


As one of the largest single land uses in our municipal
"footprints," parking deserves more attention than is typically
bestowed upon it. Besides encouraging auto use, having an
excessive supply of parking influences the character, form,
function and flow of our communities. It makes walking and
bicycling unpleasant and unsafe, it adds to flooding and
pollution problems, and it makes housing more expensive. At the
same time, parking is necessary to support a community's local
businesses; finding the right balance between supply and demand —
as an economist would — is the next step.


In the Chicago area, the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning
(CMAP) has been working with several communities through its
Local Technical Assistance program to understand the unique
parking challenges and identify potential solutions.


In this program Lindsay Bayley, from CMAP, discussed parking
management strategies and presented the findings from two very
different projects: downtown suburban Hinsdale, Illinois, and the
Chicago neighborhood of Wicker Park/Bucktown.