AGENDA #5c
MEMORANDUM
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: W. Calvin Horton, Town Manager
SUBJECT: High Occupancy Vehicle Parking: Information Report
DATE: September 23, 2002
This memorandum responds to a request by a Council member for information on high occupancy vehicle parking policies and programs.
On April 22, 2002, a Council member gave a report to the Council on various topics discussed at a convention of the International Council for Local Environmental Initiatives. One of those topics was high occupancy vehicle parking. The Council requested more information on high occupancy vehicle parking.
High occupancy vehicle parking policies are designed to reduce traffic congestion and reduce the need for parking by providing free or reduced cost parking for vehicles with multiple occupants. These policies can be used by public and private employers to encourage their employees to rideshare or vanpool. High occupancy vehicle parking policies can also be used by public organizations to provide incentives for ridesharing/vanpooling at public parking facilities.
Parking provided through a high occupancy vehicle parking program is usually located in prime locations, close to the entrance to buildings or in covered areas. Participants in the programs usually must register their carpools or vanpools. Identification of participants is provided through window or bumper stickers or hang tags.
Communities that have some form of local government high occupancy vehicle parking include:
· Seattle, Washington,
· Madison, Wisconsin
· Arlington County, Virginia
· Sacramento, California
· Portland, Oregon
In addition to coordinating high occupancy vehicle parking programs for the general public, programs have also be designed to serve employees. These programs have been implemented by both public and private organizations and provide employees with reserved parking if they agree to participate in a vanpool or carpool. At those employers that charge for parking, fees are waived for participants in the high occupancy parking program. High occupancy vehicle parking programs for employees are usually part of a larger transportation management program that can include incentives to use public transit or bicycle to work. These programs typically also include tele-working policies, flextime and variable work hours and guaranteed ride home programs.
Chapel Hill’s Transportation Management Program includes provisions for encouraging employers to provide high occupancy vehicle parking programs for their employees. The Town’s Transportation Management Program includes provisions for encouraging vanpooling and carpooling although we do not have a specific high occupancy vehicle parking program. The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill also promotes ridesharing and vanpooling through a high occupancy vehicle parking program.
CONCLUSION
The Town could encourage greater use of the high occupancy vehicle parking as part of the Town-wide Transportation Management Program by highlighting the benefits of high occupancy parking programs and encouraging such programs be included in the initial Management Plans. In addition, we will promote employee use of vanpooling or carpooling by providing designated high occupancy vehicle parking at all Town facilities as needed.