Pricing curb parking

Abstract

Where traffic is congested and all the curb spaces are occupied, some drivers are probably cruising for parking. Cities can eliminate this cruising by charging demand-based prices for curb parking to ensure one or two open spaces on every block. Drivers will then usually find convenient places to park within a short walk of their destinations. But if cities charge demand-based prices for curb parking, how will drivers choose where to park, and what will they pay? To answer these questions, I have examined how four variables—parking duration, number of persons in the car, walking speed, and value of saving time spent walking—determine parking choices when prices increase as drivers approach their destinations. Short-term parkers, carpools, slow walkers, and drivers with a high value of saving time will park closer to their destinations. Long-term parkers, solo drivers, fast walkers, and drivers with a low value of saving time will park farther away. This spontaneous, self-organizing pattern of parking choices responding to demand-based parking prices will minimize the collective cost of the time drivers spend walking to and from their destinations. Demand-priced curb parking will also reduce uncertainty about travel times. Drivers delayed by traffic congestion can save time at the end of their trips by paying a higher price to park closer to their destinations. Demand-priced curb parking at the end of a trip can serve as a buffer allowing late-arriving drivers to buy time when they need it most.