Parking policy and reducing transport congestion in cities

Cities have played an essential role in economic, social, and cultural life since the dawn of time, yet their role has never been as significant as it is today. Observing global trends, two conclusions can be drawn: the urbanization rate is systematically increasing, and cities are becoming larger. Moreover, these trends will continue. Evidence for the validity of these theses is provided by an analysis of data published by the UN. It shows that in the last 30 years, the urbanization rate has risen from 38.9% to 50.5% in 2010, which means that the number of city dwellers has more than doubled, from 1,727 million in 1980 to 3,486 million today. In 2010, there were 21 urban centers with a population of over 10 million and as many as 442 cities inhabited by more than 1 million residents. In contrast, 30 years ago, there were 4 and 197 such cities, respectively. At the same time, for those participating in city management, the most common and increasingly significant barrier to their development is transport congestion.
According to A. Altshuler, transport congestion occurs in any situation where “demand for an infrastructure facility prevents free flow at the maximum permissible speed”6. Free flow, on the other hand, should be defined as the flow of vehicles that is not hindered by interactions between vehicles, weather conditions, or other factors that could cause the speed of vehicles to be lower than the maximum permissible speed on a given road section.
Entities using transport infrastructure directly or using the services of transport, courier, and other companies indirectly. The costs of lost time can also include the costs of failing to reach a destination on time, primarily the costs of delays. Delays can have far-reaching repercussions; for example, arriving too late for a job interview can affect an entire professional career, and being late for the airport can result in failing to sign a lucrative contract. This also applies to carriers, logistics operators, couriers, and postal services for whom the untimely delivery of a shipment usually involves the necessity of incurring financial penalties, as well as, what is usually more painful, the loss of credibility and damage to their image in the eyes of the contractor. (…)

Parking policy and reducing transport congestion in cities – PDF file for download