REGIONAL REPORT Area transportation council to study whether North Texas has toomuch parking
BY ERICK PIRAYESH
excess parking. During the council’s March 14 meeting, sta members said the council will be asking for property managers and owners from across DFW to volunteer their properties for multiday parking studies. The council’s website states these studies will identify local demand, reduce the chance of unused parking and inform more accurate parking standards. The study will not include single-family housing developments or neighborhoods, the website states. “What we’ll do with this [data] is try to inform parking policy by making sure our database is made up of a variety of [parking spaces] that represent di erent devel- opment types,” said Catherine Osborn, transportation planner with the council, during its March 14 meeting.
Osborn presented data at the meeting stating that there could be 10 million cars in DFW by 2045 based on population growth estimates. She said the data shows there could be around 775 miles of combined land dedicated to parking by that time. “It’s expensive to build park- ing, especially parking garages,” Osborn said. “Parking also takes away land in valuable areas that could be used for other purposes.” When collecting data on a park- ing site, the council states it will look at total number of parking spaces, when peak use times are, nearby building occupancy numbers, special characteristics of each site, walkability of the area and nearby transit opportunities. Those looking to volunteer a property or learn more can visit www.nctcog.org/parking.
The North Central Texas Council of Governments Regional Trans- portation Council is conducting a study to determine whether the Dallas-Fort Worth area has too much parking. The council is putting together a regional parking database to help inform area o cials on ways to develop more e cient parking. Using a 2018 study, the council estimates potentially 40% of the region’s parking spaces are typically unused. The council is an independent policy board made up of o cials from across the metroplex that oversee the region’s transportation planning process. Its website states the process city planners use for determining parking needs often lacks information and can overestimate demand, leading to
The parking study will identify local demand. (Ben Karkela/Community Impact Newspaper)
TOOMUCH PARKING? As of 2020, the North Central Texas Council of Governments Regional Transportation Council estimates there are about 6.5 million vehicles in North Texas.
The council forecasts the number of cars in North Texas to increase signi cantly by 2045.
10MILLION* cars in North Texas 775MILES* of land dedicated to parking *Anticipated 2045 totals
SOURCE: NORTH CENTRAL TEXAS COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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