3.1.2.d Parking Discussion

Trends

Rising demand for parking for long distance commuters:
The current park and ride facility, located at Bullard and Bell Roads provide an inter-modal or change of mode service. The predominant modal interchange is typically between the private automobile and the transit mode, but also includes modal changes between transit and bicycle, pedestrian, carpool, vanpool, or drop-and-ride modes as well. Transit mode offered at the facility is the express bus transit. There is a rising demand for additional park and ride facilities in Surprise. The changing needs of the public and the surrounding environment reaffirm the need to approach park and ride facilities with an eye for innovation and optimization.

Issues

Managing Parking Supply
A balance should be achieved between parking policies, travel behaviors, development density, development cost and urban design. In most developments in Surprise there is an oversupply of parking and it is provided at no direct cost to the tenants or their employees. Measures need to be taken to discourage oversupply of parking on the one hand and still provide adequate parking that is not too expensive in order to maintain focus areas as a retail and employment center. On street parking in residential areas near employment and commercial sites should also strike a balance between providing resident parking and providing overflow commercial and employee parking.

Parking Supply and Long Distance Commuters

There is a need to construct and maintain inter-modal transfer facilities or parking facilities to provide a staging location for travelers to transfer to other transit modes. A park and ride lot if carefully planned and integrated into a comprehensive transportation system, can encourage a shift from single occupancy vehicles to higher occupancy modes meeting the efficiency needs of future travel patterns. This includes balancing desired land use densities with resulting parking demands and considering the impacts this parking will have on the immediate environment.

Parking Facility Design

Structured parking allows development densities and site designs that support good transit service and alternative modes, although it is more expensive than surface parking to build. Structured parking will minimize the amount of valuable land needed for travel and parking purposes.