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Big Talk | Cheng Shidong of the National Development and Reform Commission: Implementation Strategies for China’s Urban Parking Supply Policies

Release date:

2019-08-16 13:59

Source:

Industry Think Tank

One

Attributes and Classification of Parking Spaces

1. The Fundamental Attributes of Parking and the Government’s Responsibilities

Parking is not a basic public service nor a government responsibility; it is a commodity that provides public services, and its full cost should be borne by the users. The government should provide residents with basic public services; in the transportation sector, such services should prioritize public transit rather than private car travel. Parking is an indispensable part of owning and using a passenger car; like purchasing the vehicle and fuel, it is a personal matter (except for public-service vehicles such as buses, fire trucks, and ambulances). The parking fees borne by individuals should cover all market‑based costs associated with the construction, operation, and management of parking spaces, including the market‑based acquisition of the land on which they are located.

The government is under no obligation to provide parking services to residents. Its responsibility in the area of parking should be to address “illegal parking,” that is, to maintain orderly parking practices and ensure that parking does not infringe upon other public interests—such as preventing the encroachment of public green spaces, guaranteeing unimpeded traffic flow on roads, and ensuring that cyclists and pedestrians can move safely and unhindered.

2. Classification and Functions of Parking Spaces

Parking spaces can be categorized into two types: basic parking spaces and trip‑related parking spaces (non‑basic parking spaces). Basic parking spaces are located near residential areas and provide the necessary parking for residents who own vehicles. Travel‑related parking spaces, on the other hand, are situated outside residential areas—near offices, commercial centers, leisure facilities, and other destinations—and primarily serve as parking spots for passenger cars after they have been driven to their destinations.

The availability and regulation of basic parking spaces influence car ownership, while the supply and control of mobility‑related parking affect car usage. When formulating parking‑supply strategies, policies should be grounded in both car‑ownership and car‑use frameworks. Conversely, parking supply policies are also an essential component of automobile‑centric policies and a key element of urban transportation demand management. If private car ownership is not to be restricted, basic parking demand in residential areas should be adequately met; otherwise, a limited supply of parking spaces should be provided. If the use of private cars is to be rationally guided, then on‑street parking for travel purposes should be subject to a constrained supply. If the public is not encouraged to use private cars for commuting, parking spaces around office locations should be subject to strict quotas, repurposed as green spaces or other non‑vehicular uses, or converted into short‑term, temporary parking areas primarily serving visitors. This can be achieved through a pricing mechanism, such as tiered rates that increase with the duration of parking.

Two

China’s Parking Supply Policy

China’s parking supply policy should, on the basis of overarching general principles and requirements, incorporate a degree of differentiation tailored to the specific characteristics of individual cities and regions.

1. General Principles and Requirements

China’s national conditions make it difficult to sustain the unlimited ownership and use of private cars, particularly their widespread use. Chinese cities have adopted a high-intensity development model, typically with a population density of around 10,000 people per square kilometer. Such intensive development necessitates the establishment of a transit‑oriented transportation system to match it. China’s energy import dependence has exceeded 50%, and the energy security situation has grown increasingly severe. In addition, the environmental conditions in Chinese cities have been steadily deteriorating, with many urban areas posing serious health risks to residents. As the primary consumer of energy in China and a major contributor to urban environmental pollution, private passenger cars are an unsustainable mode of transportation from both energy‑security and environmental perspectives. Therefore, their use must be appropriately regulated and guided to promote more rational and efficient utilization. Based on this positioning of private car ownership and use, urban parking— an essential component and tool of automobile management—should be subject to stringent demand‑side management, with a constrained supply of parking spaces maintained at a low level, particularly through strict controls on the number of parking spaces allocated for trips.

2. Differentiation of Parking Supply

Differentiation in parking supply is designed to guide the development of appropriate transportation patterns across cities and regions, encompassing distinctions based on scale and geographic location; between urban central districts and suburban areas; among various types of buildings—residential, office, commercial, healthcare and educational, and recreational; as well as among areas at different stages of public transport development. A city’s specific parking policy is a composite of various differentiated measures, requiring a finely tuned approach to determine the appropriate level of parking supply and corresponding policies for each city and each district.

Three

The realities confronting urban parking supply policies

The implementation of urban parking supply policies must be grounded in the current realities—namely, the high volume of vehicles in cities and the prevalence of informal, non‑compliant parking—and seek a practical, actionable approach. At present, Chinese cities—particularly the major metropolitan areas—must contend with the following realities and characteristics:

(1) Compared with developed countries, China’s urban private car ownership rate remains relatively low; however, given the current conditions of Chinese cities, it is already substantial and exceeds their capacity to accommodate it.

(2) In China, vehicle ownership is highest in the central urban area and gradually declines toward the periphery, which is precisely the opposite of a rational distribution of urban parking supply.

(3) Compared with the existing vehicle fleet, parking spaces—particularly those required as part of development—are severely inadequate. As a result, widespread illegal parking has emerged, encroaching on substantial roadways, green spaces, and other public areas, thereby impeding the smooth flow of vehicular traffic and compromising the cycling and pedestrian environment, and ultimately diminishing urban residents’ overall quality of life.

(4) Cities can no longer sustain the high levels of car ownership and intensive vehicle use; the increasingly severe problem of urban traffic congestion urgently calls for stringent parking‑demand management to curb and guide travel behavior.

Four

Implementation Approaches for China’s Parking Supply Policy

Based on the aforementioned realities, the implementation pathways for China’s urban parking supply policies are: Adhere to lower parking‑space standards, maintain a consistently tight parking supply, prioritize parking regulation while supplementing it with additional parking spaces, make full use of on‑street parking resources, and adopt a phased, incremental approach to progressively achieve an appropriate level of parking provision and orderly parking management.

(1) Adhere to lower parking provision standards.

The relatively limited parking supply is an objective reflection of the unique characteristics of Chinese cities. Gradually reducing parking provision has been both a proven practice and an emerging trend in internationally advanced urban centers. Whether the current standards for parking provision are too low warrants further, meticulous examination, and any increase in these standards should be approached with due caution. Raising parking‑space requirements and constructing permanent parking spaces—once built, they are difficult to dismantle—would result in a persistently ample supply.

Many people believe that China previously underestimated the extent to which private cars would become commonplace in households and set parking‑space allocation standards too low, resulting in an insufficient supply of parking spaces and widespread parking shortages. They argue that these standards should be raised. Judging from the policies and standards recently introduced in several major Chinese cities, raising parking‑space allocation requirements has become a growing trend. For example, Shanghai has increased the minimum parking‑space ratio for commercial housing within the Inner Ring Road from the previous 1:0.7 to 1:1—meaning one parking space per household. Similarly, Beijing plans to significantly raise residential parking‑space standards, revising the requirement from “0.3 spaces per household within the Third Ring Road and 0.5 spaces per household outside it” to a level that essentially ensures one parking space per vehicle.

Parking provision standards must be determined through a comprehensive assessment of various factors and, overall, should be aligned with the land development intensity and transportation patterns of the city or region. Manhattan, New York (60 square kilometers, with a population of over 1.5 million), has a population density of 25,000 people per square kilometer—comparable to that of Beijing’s Third Ring Road area and Shanghai’s Inner Ring Road area. However, in Manhattan’s core district, the maximum residential parking provision rate is capped at 0.2 to 0.35 spaces per household, while outside the central area, the average minimum requirement stands at 0.48 spaces per household. As the comparison shows, Beijing and Shanghai did not originally have particularly low parking‑space allocation standards. In major global cities, car ownership generally increases from the city center to the suburbs; however, in most Chinese cities—such as Beijing and Shanghai—it declines instead. This trend, to some extent, highlights the inadequacy of our policy interventions and suggests that raising minimum parking‑space requirements to meet parking demand may not always be appropriate.

(2) Prioritize standardized parking while supplementing it with the expansion of parking spaces, thereby maintaining a sustained state of parking scarcity.

Simply increasing the number of parking spaces cannot solve the “parking shortage,” just as simply building more roads cannot alleviate traffic congestion. Parking demand is closely linked to car ownership and usage. As incomes rise and vehicle‑purchase and operating costs remain relatively stable, simply expanding parking capacity—when supply is already ample—will inevitably encourage more people to buy and drive cars, thereby exacerbating the “parking shortage” problem.

At present, the central districts of major global cities all center their parking policies on demand management rather than on meeting parking demand. Parking is a persistent challenge in the central districts of major cities worldwide; in London, Amsterdam, and Manhattan, parking is even more difficult than in Chinese cities such as Beijing and Shanghai. The difficulty of finding parking in a city’s central district is inherent to the urban form itself. Unless the central area is reconfigured—such as in downtown Houston and Dallas, where a sea of parking lots supports only a handful of high-rise buildings—truly resolving the parking crisis in Manhattan’s core would require demolishing nearly half of the district to make way for parking garages or multi‑story parking structures. An effective parking policy has never been guided by the goal of alleviating parking shortages in central areas.

Under pressure from public opinion and other factors, many cities have responded to the “parking shortage” by expanding parking capacity. However, this approach is neither advisable nor likely to yield lasting results. If, in the course of this process, measures such as reducing the land‑sale price for parking facilities and providing subsidies for parking‑space construction are adopted, such direct and indirect subsidies for parking development would be all the more unwarranted and unreasonable—effectively using public resources to subsidize a particular group, one that is relatively well‑off.

Only by maintaining a persistent “parking shortage,” or even exacerbating it, can vehicle ownership be curbed and rational usage encouraged. It is an important strategy and measure to guide the development of a rational, sustainable transportation system by controlling car ownership and promoting its prudent use, while maintaining a tight supply of parking spaces—i.e., a state of “difficulty in finding parking.” If parking spaces are scarce around residential areas, people’s willingness to purchase a car will decline; and if public parking in office and business districts is inadequate, leaving drivers unable to find a spot for an extended period after arriving at their destination, both their intention to drive and their actual driving behavior will diminish.

Parking spaces may only be constructed in areas where the supply of parking spaces falls significantly short of the reasonable standards for planned provision, and such construction shall be carried out on a case-by-case basis, taking into account land availability and other relevant factors; however, the number of parking spaces provided must not exceed the prescribed standards. While expanding and supplementing parking spaces to increase supply, we must enforce the law rigorously, redirecting irregular parking to designated areas. For every new parking space built, we should eliminate an equivalent amount of illegal parking. The goal is not merely to alleviate the “parking shortage,” but to establish a well‑ordered parking system that does not inadvertently foster a more permissive parking environment.

(3) Fully leverage roadside parking resources

On-street parking is a parking resource under government control that can be adjusted at any time; by altering its availability and pricing, it can influence both the quantity and cost of parking supply across an entire district or city. In the initial phase of parking regulation, a designated number of nighttime parking spaces will be allocated along curbs in areas where residential use is essential, thereby addressing basic parking needs. The purpose, like the expansion of parking spaces, is to standardize parking and establish a well-organized parking system. This portion of parking spaces may be adjusted at any time in accordance with traffic management and other relevant requirements; overall, the trend should be toward their gradual reduction and eventual elimination, restoring roadways to their primary function of facilitating traffic flow. Strict measures should be implemented immediately to reduce on-street parking in workplaces and commercial districts, gradually phasing it out and retaining only a limited number of spaces for short-term parking. In addition, to alleviate the current shortage of parking for existing vehicles, non-residential parking facilities should be encouraged and promoted for nighttime use.

(4) Adopt a step-by-step strategy.

Given the severe shortage of parking spaces relative to the number of vehicles, widespread illegal parking, and a general lack of public awareness regarding parking regulations, parking management should adopt a phased, incremental approach. It must be underpinned by sustained, unwavering commitment and pursued as a long-term, protracted effort. First, priority should be given to addressing illegal parking around daytime office and business districts to reduce car usage; second, attention should be paid to evening illegal parking in residential areas. At the regional level, implementation should proceed gradually from the city centers—where traffic congestion is most severe and parking is most scarce—outward. In‑street parking should first be reduced or eliminated on major roads, then gradually extended to side streets, ultimately achieving the desired goal.

Five

Implementation Safeguards and Recommendations for Urban Parking Supply Policies

The implementation of parking supply policies is not an isolated measure or task; it can be successfully carried out only through close coordination with other relevant stakeholders, such as ensuring adequate public‑transport capacity and high‑quality service levels, and enforcing strict regulations against illegal parking.

(1) On the premise of adequate public transport capacity and convenient, comfortable services.

Implementing a lower‑level parking supply policy aims to curb car ownership and promote its rational use, with the goal of reshaping urban residents’ travel patterns, encouraging greater reliance on public transport, and establishing a transportation system that aligns with the city’s unique characteristics. Shifting the public from car travel to public transit through parking measures requires sufficient public‑transport capacity as a prerequisite; if public transit itself is already strained or inadequate, it becomes impossible to encourage other modes of travel to switch to it. At the same time, public transportation services should be convenient and comfortable in order to remain competitive and attractive.

At present, many cities in China suffer from insufficient public transportation capacity and inadequate service coverage. In Beijing and Shanghai, many subway stations implement passenger‑flow restrictions during morning and evening rush hours, a clear sign of insufficient capacity. Crowding on the subway has reached its breaking point, with no comfort to speak of. Moreover, public transportation—including surface bus services—fails to serve certain newly developed residential areas and suburban fringe zones. At present, the existing public transportation system still falls short of fully supporting or serving as a sufficient condition for discouraging private car use, and therefore requires vigorous prioritization and accelerated development.

(2) Comprehensively and accurately assess the parking supply situation, and formulate and implement urban parking supply policies in a scientific and refined manner.

Formulating parking supply policies requires a clear understanding of both current demand and supply conditions; at present, nearly all Chinese cities lack a comprehensive and accurate grasp of their urban parking situation. This parking supply should not be limited to on-street parking spaces; it must also encompass public parking facilities and on-site parking spaces at organizations and enterprises, and it must be comprehensive and accurate. On this basis, a parking information database should be established and updated in real time, providing data support for the formulation and adjustment of specific parking indicators and policies.

Based on a comprehensive and accurate understanding of the parking supply situation, and taking into account urban characteristics, regional development intensity, building types and functions, and the level of public transport development, scientifically sound and finely tuned policies and measures for urban parking supply should be formulated for each district, with clearly defined long-term goals and phased implementation.

(3) In tandem with parking pricing policies, implement a strategy that integrates convenient parking with increased revenue collection.

First and foremost, parking should be recognized as a public‑service commodity, with pricing determined by fully market‑based mechanisms and free from any subsidies. At present, urban parking in China exhibits varying degrees of both “explicit subsidies” and “implicit subsidies.” For instance, land allocated for parking facilities is designated as transportation‑related land rather than being acquired through market‑based transactions; moreover, some cities offer financial incentives to encourage the development of parking spaces. All such subsidies should be abolished to truly reflect their market value and pricing, and on-street parking fees should be aligned with them.

Secondly, by reflecting the market value of parking and raising parking fees to reduce demand, we can achieve a balance between parking supply and demand while making parking more convenient. According to market principles, demand and price are inversely related: raising parking fees will reduce parking demand, and once prices rise to a certain level, supply and demand will naturally reach equilibrium, thereby preventing the problem of “difficulty in finding parking.” By raising parking fees, the government can leverage on-street parking resources and, through price increases, help drive up parking prices across the entire city. Many countries and cities around the world have already adopted this approach to ensure an adequate supply of parking spaces. The European Union’s standard regulations for on-street parking systems in its member states are: When the occupancy rate of on-street parking spaces in urban areas exceeds 75%, zone-based parking management and charging should be implemented; if, after implementing zone-based parking management, the occupancy rate surpasses 85%, parking fees must be increased until the occupancy rate falls below 85%. Raising parking fees is the fundamental solution to the “parking shortage.”

(4) Backed by robust enforcement against illegal parking

Robust enforcement against illegal parking is essential for maintaining a tight supply of parking spaces, raising parking fees, and ensuring orderly parking practices. The primary reason for the widespread problem of illegal parking in most Chinese cities today is lax enforcement of parking regulations, which has meant that the public has not genuinely experienced the difficulty of finding parking over an extended period. At present, illegal parking has become rampant, severely compromising road traffic flow, pedestrian and cycling conditions, and the quality of public spaces and urban life. Moving forward, a more stringent parking‑supply policy will be implemented, with the immediate priority being to strengthen parking enforcement and curb unauthorized parking. Only in this way can improperly parked vehicles be redirected to newly constructed or temporarily designated parking spaces, thereby maintaining the tight balance between parking supply and demand. Moreover, only under such conditions can measures aimed at raising parking fees and reducing parking demand prove effective, rather than giving rise to even more illegal parking.

The symposium on the group standard for environmental and spatial design of building‑type parking garages was held successfully!

Multi‑storey Parking | Offering 180 Spaces! By the end of this month, a new multi‑storey parking garage will be added to Beizhan North Road in Furong District.