Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Those trying to build walkable communities around transit stations are still running up against bad parking requirements. Photo: City of Millbrae
People trying to build walkable places around transit stations still have to contend with parking requirements. Photo: City of Millbrae
false

This week there's a huge gathering in Dallas for the annual Railvolution conference. One of the hot topics for all those people trying to build walkable places: parking requirements.

At one session, University of Utah professor and eminent urban researcher Reid Ewing spoke alongside a developer about the downsides of being forced to build too much parking -- even right next to transit, even for affordable housing. Ewing had some eye-opening stories about how influential guidebooks like the Institute of Transportation Engineers "Parking Generation" -- which purport to have parking requirements down to a science -- are wildly off the mark. Brandon Formby at the Dallas Morning News' Transportation Blog reports:

When Ewing and some students attempted to study actual usage at several TODs throughout the country, many property managers wouldn’t allow them onto the developments to survey people using them.

“We’re still having trouble getting permission,” Ewing said.

So Ewing and his team used the Redmond Downtown Transit Center outside Seattle as a case study focusing on how people accessed the transit-oriented development around it.

Ewing said the development spurred about 37 percent of the vehicle trips per day that the Institute of Transportation Engineers estimated would occur. He said the guidelines estimated that residential parking demand would require 441 spaces during peak periods. Reid said only 278 spaces would satisfy actual demand.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Streets.mn takes down two anti-bike arguments. And Tim Kovach explains how terrible smog events jump-started modern air quality regulation.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Friday Video: Amtrak Is Way More Successful Than You Think

Why do so many people still treat Amtrak as a failure — and what would it take to deliver the rail investment that American riders deserve?

October 24, 2025

Friday’s Headlines Are Hanging Out Down the Street

The same old thing we did last week — until the neighbor wrote a letter to the editor.

October 24, 2025

Report: Lessons from California’s HSR Project

A new paper from the Mineta Institute looks at California's high-speed rail project—and how to do better moving forward.

October 23, 2025

Talking Headways Podcast: Life After Cars

Sarah Goodyear and Doug Gordon of The War on Cars podcast on their new book, opposing views, Turtle Jesus and potential off-ramps towards car-free cities.

October 23, 2025

Traffic Congestion Is a Housing and Transit Problem, Not a Highway Problem

To truly solve tangled traffic in California (and across the U.S.), we need to take the problem out of the hands of the road builders and address the root causes of congestion: building more affordable housing near jobs and improving public transportation options.

October 23, 2025

Truckers Back NYC Busway Plan That Trump Blocked

The federal government has obviously lost its trucking mind.

October 23, 2025
See all posts