On-street parking
Remember the visits from the safety officer in grade school? Lesson one: Don’t run between parked cars.
Burlington’s five-hour on-street parking limit has kept our streets largely clear of parked cars for a long time. Residents can request an exemption for up to 15 days a year quickly and easily at this city website: https://bylaw.burlington.ca/permits/?cmd=new_non_auth
What’s changed?
We all know housing is expensive; sometimes, two or three incomes are required to purchase a home. Today, homes are occupied by two or more couples, multigenerational families, or a homeowner and tenant(s). Another significant change is the city allowing condo towers to be built with only one parking spot per unit.
What are the implications of more on-street parking?
The European Transit Research Review published this article in May of 2024.
While the study’s focus is on autonomous vehicles, its findings related to on-street parking are interesting. The study created a computer model of the city to test different traffic conditions.
The model showed:
“replacing on-street parking with driving lanes, cycle lanes, and public spaces can lead to better traffic performance. Specifically, there could be a 27–30% reduction in travel time, a 43–47% reduction in delays, more than 90% in emission reduction, and a 94% reduction in traffic crashes compared to the other tested measures.”
Burlington’s traffic is tough enough already; do we need to make it worse with more on-street parking?
Other studies referenced in the article show:
“Vehicles searching for an empty parking space may significantly lead to cruising and frequent stops, which increases CO2 emissions.”
Burlington is updating its climate action plan, funding Burlington Green, and funding the Bay Area Climate Council. Where does council stand on emissions?
What are the safety implications?
“Aside from the impact on mobility and environment, on-street parking affects safety. Firstly, it creates hazards and increases risks for vulnerable road users [6, 46]. The presence of parked vehicles on the road can contribute to heightened uncertainty, mental strain, and potential hazards, as they may obstruct the view of the road and make it more challenging to spot pedestrians who are crossing [17]. Several studies have suggested a strong correlation between child injuries on urban roads and on-street parking, as parked cars can decrease their visibility and limit their ability to discern an approaching vehicle [6, 16, 38, 48, 49]. The Department of Transport in Great Britain [15] issued a report that highlights the relationship between on-street parking and car-pedestrian injury accidents, with on-street parking contributing to 13–17% of such incidents. Additionally, statistics have been released showing that between 1990 and 2021, back-over incidents resulting from vehicles reversing out of parking spots led to the deaths of 1,502 children aged 14 and under in the United States [33].”
Bike lanes, bike lanes, bike lanes.
We don’t hear much about dooring in Burlington. Dooring is where a person, usually someone who just parked their car on the street, opens their car door into the path of an oncoming cyclist.
Not surprisingly, Toronto, with lots of on-street parking, has a dooring problem.
“Motor vehicle crash reports exclude crashes between bicyclists and parked cars by definition. Thus the full extent of the dooring problem is not known. The studies that do include door-opening incidents reveal that they are one of the most common causes of urban bicycle-motor vehicle collisions, accounting for 12%–27% of the total.”
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0001457518303981
While council spends millions on bike lanes, will on-street parking encourage more of us to ride bikes?
Vision Zero?
Burlington’s 2025 budget states, “Burlington’s commitment to be a vision zero City that strives to create streets for all users and eliminate fatalities and serious injuries.”
Are there solutions to this problem?
Recognizing that Burlington does not have a subway system and that public transit is not a solution for everyone might be a good place to start. Allowing condos to be built without adequate parking has impacted businesses in the downtown core; soon, every resident will be asked to pay for another multi-level parking garage to create more parking downtown.
Encouraging residents with available parking spots to monetize those spots using the SpotHero app will help.
If on-street parking is the only solution, a “Reserved Dwelling Parking Program” is another alternative. One on-street parking spot per home, reserved for a car associated with the home. No driving around looking for a spot, no shovelling out your spot in the morning only to find someone parked there when you get home.
“In accordance with the City of Lowell Code of Ordinance Section 266-85, each house with frontage on a street or public way may have one parking space reserved on that street or public way for the residents of the house.”
https://www.lowellma.gov/460/Reserved-Dwelling-Parking-Program
Our council talks about Vision Zero, increased bicycle usage, and lowering emissions. Is allowing more on-street parking in direct conflict with these goals?