An analysis of the parking situation in the downtown area of West Berlin

Abstract

The parking situation in the Zoo district of West Berlin is considered. The demand for parking places in different blocks and of different parking time classes is assigned to the supply of existing facilities (parkhouses, public parking lots, etc) in such a manner that an expression for the societal costs associated with the parking system is minimized. Societal costs include among other things walking costs, when vehicles are assigned to blocks other than the final destination ones. Supply and demand are measured in terms of physical parking places, not in terms of automobiles or trips. The minimization is carried out in an L.P. model of the transportation type. This analysis gives an overview of what an “optimal” utilization of existing parking facilities would look like. For example how far would drivers have to walk from their vehicles to reach their final destinations? Where would there be empty places on the streets? The paper concludes with some recommendations for a more effective parking system in downtown West Berlin.