Tackling the parking shortage: Beijing is taking action!

Fengtai District in Beijing will… Starting July 1, on roads with 56 or more branch lanes, the transition will be completed from “manual cash tolling” to “electronic tolling,” and from “commercial tolls” to “administrative and public‑service fees.” To address residents’ parking challenges, the multi‑level parking garage at the north plaza of Beijing South Railway Station may soon offer parking spaces to local residents.

Recently, the Standing Committee of the Beijing Municipal People’s Congress conducted field visits to the Fengtai and Xicheng districts. Enforcement inspection of the “Two Regulations and One Decision.” Issues such as on‑street parking management, the supply of parking spaces in residential areas, the regulation of electric bicycles, and the management of shared bicycles are all within the scope of this inspection.

Parking fee

Starting July 1, Fengtai District will implement electronic toll collection on 56 roads.

According to the “Beijing On-Street Parking Reform Plan,” the Fengtai and Xicheng districts have carried out planning and marking of roads within urban areas, ensuring effective management of on-street parking. Starting from last year’s National Day holiday, Xicheng District has… On 69 roads, 5,500 electronically managed parking spaces have been established, allowing drivers to pay online via the “Beijing Traffic” app, the official WeChat account, WeChat City Services, Alipay’s city services, and other platforms. Starting July 1, Fengtai District will implement electronic payment on 56 secondary roads and beyond, covering a total of 6,618 parking spaces, using video‑based bollards or high‑resolution video surveillance. This marks a transition from “manual cash collection” to “electronic payment” and from “commercial fees” to “administrative and public‑service charges.”

Electronic parking payment devices installed along the roadside on Xuanwumen West Street in Xicheng District.

Fengtai District has also established the Fengtai Static Traffic Branch and is recruiting. Three hundred and fifty rural surplus workers have been organized into a parking‑management team, which conducts traffic‑safety guidance and issues notices of violations on on‑street parking routes. In addition to improving the order of static parking, this initiative has also effectively strengthened public awareness of relevant policies and regulations.

The reporter learned that Dongcheng District, Xicheng District, and Tongzhou District have been implementing on-street electronic parking fee collection for six months. Starting July 1, in addition to Fengtai District, Haidian, Chaoyang, and Shijingshan Districts will also fully launch electronic road‑parking fee collection.

Residential parking spaces

The three-dimensional parking garage at the North Plaza of Beijing South Railway Station will provide parking spaces for residents.

To address the parking challenges in older residential neighborhoods, the Fengtai and Xicheng districts have increased parking capacity by implementing measures such as area realignment, maximizing underutilized spaces, and advancing the construction of multi‑level parking facilities.

Fengtai District, in conjunction with pilot projects for the renovation of older residential communities and the region’s specific conditions, has refined its design plans. By adjusting zoning to demolish illegal structures, reconfiguring green spaces, and implementing one‑way parking and traffic flow within the community, it has, from… Since 2018, approximately 7,700 parking spaces have been added within residential areas. In addition, Fengtai District has encouraged private capital to participate in the construction of multi‑level parking facilities. Projects such as the Shoujingmao No. 1 Courtyard in Xincun Subdistrict and the Ziranmei Building in Dahongmen Subdistrict, which are already in operation, have collectively added 764 parking spaces. This year, planned developments—including multi‑level parking facilities at the Xifu Yiyuan Community in Lugouqiao Township, the Majiabao Jiayuan No. 1 Community, and the North Plaza of Beijing South Railway Station—are expected to provide an additional roughly 800 parking spaces.

The Xicheng District Urban Management Commission, taking into account current issues and residents’ feedback, has decided to… As a requirement for residential parking authorization, the “Three‑in‑One” system was used to organize residents’ registration. Following a rigorous review process, the final list of authorized users comprises more than 7,000 individuals.

Due to its early construction date and inadequate supporting facilities, the Xuanxi Community in Guangnei Subdistrict… Issues such as “difficulty finding parking” and “illegal parking” have long plagued local residents. Since the official launch of the Changchun East Street Parking Self‑Governance Project in January 2019, Guangnei Subdistrict has systematically designated 134 parking spaces, effectively easing the parking burden on longtime residents. During the survey, residents of Xuanxi Community remarked, “Before, there was nowhere to park; now there’s both space and safety.”

Research and investigation The group conducted a survey in the Xuanxi Community to assess parking conditions within the residential area.

Tonglingge Road experiences heavy traffic during morning and evening rush hours, and there are numerous openings and holes along both sides of the road. With numerous “seven‑small” retail outlets, illegal parking is a prominent issue, creating significant challenges for local residents seeking parking. In 2017, after sealing unauthorized wall openings and cracking down on non‑compliant businesses, the subdistrict office built Xicheng District’s first multi‑level parking garage, offering 55 spaces. Nearby communities such as Wenjia Street, Shoushui River, and Shoupa can obtain parking permits by meeting the “three‑in‑one” requirements; permitted hours are from 6 p.m. to 7 a.m., with a monthly fee of 300 yuan. During off‑peak periods, the facility is also available to nearby white‑collar workers.

A multi-story parking garage located on Tonglingge Road.

Bike-sharing

Electronic fencing regulates parking秩序.

The Fengtai and Xicheng districts have marked designated parking zones for shared bicycles and installed electronic fencing at key transportation hubs and other areas prone to bicycle congestion, enabling monitoring of bicycle parking conditions in the surrounding areas.

At Xuanwumen Metro Station At H Port, shared bikes—including Mobike and Didi’s “Little Blue” models—are neatly lined up along both sides of the road. According to the district urban management commission, Bluetooth‑based electronic fences can promptly transmit data on bikes within designated zones. Local subdistrict offices and bike‑sharing companies use a centralized platform to monitor fleet sizes, adjust deployment by increasing or reducing the number of bikes in circulation, and reposition vehicles from areas where parking exceeds permitted limits.

The law enforcement inspection team conducted an on-site survey of the parking order for shared bicycles.

With regard to the regulation of electric bicycles, the Fengtai and Xicheng districts have launched a special campaign to address illegal sales, stepping up enforcement against violations such as unlicensed operations and unauthorized sales.

In terms of source‑level regulation, efforts to enforce the new national standards have been stepped up, with inspections conducted at existing electric bicycle retailers to ensure that all vehicles on sale comply with… “New national standards,” while also installing electronic information display screens in business premises to remind consumers to make prudent purchasing decisions.

The law enforcement inspection team recommends that appropriate access standards be established for three- and four-wheeled electric vehicles.

Following the conclusion of the field investigation, the Municipal People’s Congress inspection team held a symposium to discuss the situations in Fengtai and Xicheng districts. The implementation of the “Two Regulations and One Decision” was commended, and it was recommended that law enforcement be institutionalized, enforcement efforts be strengthened, and relevant provisions be fully enforced.

The law enforcement inspection team recommends that, alongside the installation of electronic parking‑fee collection systems, efforts should also be made to ensure their proper operation at the source and to prevent malicious damage to the sensors. When deploying these systems, comprehensive considerations should be given to both the aesthetic appeal of the roadways and cost‑effectiveness, so that the electronic fee‑collection devices can fully fulfill their intended functions. In the two urban districts, the shortage of resident parking spaces has been alleviated to some extent; however, a gap in residential parking remains, and road‑side parking resources still require further integration and optimization. Through public awareness campaigns, it is essential to enhance the public’s understanding of… Awareness of “parking in designated spaces, paying for parking, and facing penalties for illegal parking” must be strengthened, with vigorous crackdowns on unauthorized parking facilities and the establishment of standardized parking‑fee regulations.

The law enforcement inspection team also recommended that the safety of three- and four-wheeled electric vehicles remains inadequate and that corresponding准入 standards should be established.