Green roofed parking garages with energy conserving lighting circuitry are the wave of the future, according to attendees at the Parking Show of Shows in National Harbor, Maryland this week. Martin Stein, president of the National Parking Association, explains the connection between parking availability and mass transit ridership: "Without abundant parking near transit stations in suburban areas, people won't bother to hop on subways and trains. The perception of convenience is very important."
According to Gloria Ohland of Reconnecting America, "There is this whole dynamic and irony at play here. Unless there are parking spaces, you're not going to get people to use transit." Dave Rich, a parking consultant at Rich & Associates, says the marriage of parking and transit is a growing segment of his business. "Forty percent of the projects we're doing right now involve planning and conceptual design of parking in transit oriented environments." So, all you green advocates out there, remember, if you want people to get out of their cars, you need to give them someplace to park.
According to Gloria Ohland of Reconnecting America, "There is this whole dynamic and irony at play here. Unless there are parking spaces, you're not going to get people to use transit." Dave Rich, a parking consultant at Rich & Associates, says the marriage of parking and transit is a growing segment of his business. "Forty percent of the projects we're doing right now involve planning and conceptual design of parking in transit oriented environments." So, all you green advocates out there, remember, if you want people to get out of their cars, you need to give them someplace to park.
