Dongguan will promote the construction of a number of pilot projects for multi‑storey parking garages.

The difficulty of finding parking has become a pressing public‑welfare issue of concern to residents. At the special inquiry on traffic congestion management held at the 26th meeting of the Standing Committee of the 16th Municipal People’s Congress on October 30, Standing Committee member Li Kuishan pointed out that there is a significant mismatch between the supply and demand for parking facilities, and that parking management remains inadequate. To meet the growing parking needs of the public, what measures are being taken to increase the availability of parking spaces both on and off the road, and to strengthen enforcement against illegal parking?

Zhu Limin, Director of the Municipal Transportation Bureau, candidly acknowledged that the most pressing issue in parking is the mismatch between supply and demand. In recent years, our city has experienced rapid growth in vehicle ownership; as of the end of September 2019, the total number of registered vehicles had reached 3.16 million. Currently, the city has approximately 1.46 million parking spaces, leaving a shortfall of 3.28 million (calculated based on a 1.5‑times standard). In the central urban area alone, there are about 390,000 parking spaces, with a deficit of 670,000. Moreover, a high proportion of these spaces are located on-street, which not only encroaches on driving lanes but also reduces traffic flow efficiency—making it a major contributor to congestion in key areas. In addition, the average parking turnover rate remains low, preventing parking fees from effectively serving as an economic incentive to optimize space utilization.

The issue of “difficulty in finding parking” has drawn the attention of the municipal government. Zhu Limin revealed that the municipal government and relevant departments are expediting the formulation of policies, including the “Implementation Opinions on the Planning, Construction, and Management of Parking Facilities in Dongguan City,” the “Three-Year Parking Action Plan for the Central Urban Area,” and the “Implementation Plan for Differentiated Pricing of Parking Services in Dongguan.” Moving forward, five key measures—increasing supply, regulating demand, strengthening management, promoting smart parking, and introducing supporting policies—will be deployed to vigorously advance parking management in our city and ensure that residents’ parking needs are met.

Among these measures, a number of pilot projects for multi‑level parking garages will be advanced, and a city‑wide inventory of pilot projects for the investment, construction, and operation of parking facilities will be established. In terms of demand management, special planning for parking facilities at both the municipal and town levels will be put in place, leveraging differentiated parking‑fee pricing as a policy tool to reduce car‑based travel. A fund for the construction and industrial development of parking facilities will be set up through mechanisms such as state‑owned enterprise guidance and village (community) fundraising; moreover, collective entities and state‑owned enterprises will be encouraged to collaborate on parking‑facility projects, using rights such as operating concessions and projected revenues to secure market‑based financing.