Managing mobility to save energy through parking planning

Abstract

Energy saving is the most sustainable solution in the long run to achieve the 2020 goals and mobility is one of the highest energy-consuming activities in our towns. The way people move in the urban environment is manageable through several policies, strategies and actions. Parking management is an important strategy in most planning activities, those addressing land use management as well as traffic plans. Private parking lots (usually at the origin of trips) are planned with a minimum standard quantity in most countries, but there are some good examples where a maximum amount of parking is ruled by plans, in order to discourage residents from possessing too many cars! The availability of public parking places (at the destination of the trip) and their fees have a direct influence on modal choice and so on inter-modality, as the economic sustainability of private motorised mobility is also influenced by economic estimations. Several options in managing public parking regulations can influence mobility patterns, such as regarding location, parking fees and time-related policies. The paper proposes a methodology for the analysis of the space-time relations between public parking and individual travel choices. The methodology has been assessed in the case study of Brescia, in northern Italy. First of all, the location and the density of parking areas within the city have been mapped to show the spatial coverage of car parking supply. Then, the time variable has been considered, to illustrate the degree of use of each parking area during the day—thus showing modal choices and their variation in time and space. The results of the analysis can be extended to similar situations as the methodology has a broad application. The final goal of the research, rather than simply monitoring parking use, is to encourage sustainable mobility through the management of parking supply in urban areas and so to foster energy saving policies.