Calculating the impacts of alternative parking pricing and enforcement policies in urban areas with traffic problems

Abstract

Called to seek fresh thinking in mobility management, European cities present strong interest in parking management. In contrast with traditional approaches where parking problem was treated as a problem of inadequate supply whose solution lies on abundant, free and on a first-come basis parking provision, the rational of parking management is conscripted so as to combat traffic and environmental problems. At the new parking approach, parking policy should respect particular needs of each area and should apply in a flexible way so as to serve an integrated development plan. At this framework, the current paper examines Thessaloniki's case, Greece, that presents severe traffic problems. The paper tries to evaluate the impacts on traffic and environmental indicators of the implementation of a controlled parking system. The results verify that when a parking system becomes controlled and a strong enforcement mechanism applies, the modal split changes in favor of public transport.