Parking strategy

Parking is a major issue for many organisations. Off-site parking provision is expensive, and on-site car parks may be using valuable land, which could be more productively used.

Reducing the space you need for parking can release funds, which can then be used to encourage more sustainable means of transport.

Restricting the availability of parking has been found to be the single most effective measure in persuading people to leave their cars at home.

But parking is an emotive issue, and sometimes staff may genuinely need to bring their cars to work. Before changing your parking policies, it is useful to identify who needs parking facilities.

High priority users

• people with disabilities
• people with a genuine business need
• people who are car sharing
• people with caring responsibilities for small children, which makes public transport impracticable
• people who live too far away and have no realistic alternative

Low priority users

• people who live within a short distance, say a mile, of the site
• people who live close to a good public transport link, bus or rail
• people who would be happy to cycle if facilities were provided

Once you have identified who needs parking facilities, you can create measures to help you reduce parking space. Possible measures include:

• develop a parking permit system and limit parking to priority groups
• give incentives to staff who do not use a parking space
• introduce a charge for on-site parking (you could agree with staff that the money raised will be given to charity, used to fund sustainable travel incentives, or spent on other staff benefits)
• reserve convenient parking spaces for car sharers
• reallocate some parking spaces to cycle or motor cycle parking
• try to achieve a culture change so that a parking space ceases to be a sought after status symbol