1. Ways to Communicate
Costs
a. Strategies for Communication
Many
policy makers and community members are not aware of the cost of
parking. Framing the issue in a number of ways which makes the cost of
parking clear will force policy makers to recognize the trade-offs when
mandating a high free parking supply.
|
Main Types of Costs: |
- Dollars
- Density
- Design
- Dependence on Automobiles
|
|
Main Categories of Costs
|
- ... per space
- ... per unit
- ... per development
- ... per subsidy dollar
- ... per month / year
|
The matrix below represents possible ways of framing the discussion on
parking costs. Clearly communicating the trade-offs under different
scenarios will allow policy makers to make informed decisions.
| |
Dollars |
Density |
Design |
Dependence |
| per space |
"On this site, parking will cost $15,000
per space before considering land costs which add $5,000 per space" |
"A reduction in parking from 2 spaces
per unit to 1.5 spaces per unit will allow us to
increase density by 15%" |
"Each parking space eliminates 200
square feet which we could devote to a community garden which would also
reduce stormwater runoff." |
"Each additional parking space ensures
an additional vehicle generating local traffic." |
| per unit |
"At an average of 1.75 spaces per unit,
parking is costing us $35,000 per housing unit (given a cost of $20,000
per space)" |
N/A |
"A lower parking ratio would allow us to
improve the quality of each unit." |
"At 2 spaces per unit, residents must
pay for those 2 spaces in their rent, which will mean they'll probably own
2 cars per unit." |
| per
development |
"At the current parking requirement,
parking will cost this development $200,000 in land costs and $500,000 in
construction costs" |
"At the same height, we can develop
30 more affordable housing units, if the parking requirements were
relaxed as requested." |
"A lower parking ratio would allow us to
include a neighborhood serving ground floor use." or "...allow
us to build 2.5 story townhomes instead of a four story apartment
building." |
"The forty parking spaces eliminated in
our proposal will allow us to afford transit passes for residents and to
pass on parking costs -- this will reduce the number of vehicles
generating traffic in the city." |
| per subsidy
dollar |
"At current parking ratios, this
development requires a $100,000 per unit subsidy, at our requested parking
ratio, that falls to $80,000 per unit, making more efficient use of scarce
housing funds." |
N/A |
"Less parking will allow us to use funds
for higher quality materials, creating a public asset from public funds." |
"At the current parking ratio, housing
subsidies will be used to create low-density housing near significantly
subsidized transit/ new transit investments." |
| per month /
per year |
Using simple present value to
payment calculation, you can convert a per unit dollar cost of parking
into a monthly and annual rental cost. For example, if 2 spaces per
unit are adding $35,000 per unit to costs, at 30 years and 7%, this costs
means an "increase in monthly rent of $232, or $2,800 per year" |
b. Strategies for Quantification
Unfortunately, while developers are keenly aware of these costs, the developers we contacted for this study did not
systematically quantify the costs of parking. Generally, this is because
each project is unique, and engineering and architectural costing standards
generally do not isolate parking costs, especially on a per space basis. While
this difficulty will remain, here are some general strategies:
|
Strategy |
Description |
|
Scenarios |
Pencil-out scenarios with different levels of parking, generally the
required amount and desired amount. Using the difference between the
total costs of each scenario and the difference in number of units can yield
a per unit cost per parking space. (See NPH
Analysis for examples of using different development scenarios.) |
|
Past Experience |
Use rules of thumb from past experience and other sources (and Examples
of Parking Costs, and the NPH Analysis) |
|
Convert Space to Dollars |
Use square foot construction cost and parking space size (including
circulation) to estimate costs per space. |
|
Land Costs |
Use land costs to create rough estimates of parking costs (especially when
surface parking is expected to be used -- See Below). |
|
Monthly/ Annual Equivalents |
Convert dollar costs to monthly and annual rental equivalents (See Below). |
|
Put Costs in Non-Dollar Terms |
Convert dollar savings into amenities, such as day-care or computing
centers. |
|
Operations |
While hard to
quantify, do not forgot the added costs of operation (lighting, security, gates, etc.)
related to providing parking. |
c. Examples of Calculation and Conversion
Example: Using Land Costs:
Parking consumes land. In the case of surface parking, it is the sole
use of scarce and expensive land in the region. Below is a table that
shows the cost per space of land at selected land prices.
Table: Land Costs Per Space For Surface Parking
| |
Land
Costs (per sq. ft) |
$20 |
$30 |
$50 |
$75 |
$100 |
$120 |
| |
Land Costs per (acre) |
$871,200 |
$1,306,800 |
$2,178,000 |
$3,267,000 |
$4,356,000 |
$5,227,200 |
| |
Land Costs per
Parking Space |
$6,300 |
$9,450 |
$15,750 |
$23,625 |
$31,500 |
$37,800 |
| |
Based
on parking space size of 315 square feet, including circulation (from RS
Means). |
Example: Converting Total Cost to Monthly Annual Equivalent
This has the benefit of converting parking's cost in terms of rent, making
the connection to housing affordability stronger. The table below uses simple
present value calculations to convert an upfront cost to a 30 year monthly and
annual costs. Often this cost is both a significant portion of a proposed
tenants income and as expensive or more expensive than owning a
vehicle.
Table: Parking Space Costs on a Monthly and Annual Basis
|
Interest Rate
|
7% |
|
|
Parking Space
Cost
|
Monthly Cost
|
Annual Cost
|
|
$35,000 |
$232.86 |
$2,794 |
|
$30,000 |
$199.59 |
$2,395 |
|
$25,000 |
$166.33 |
$1,996 |
|
$20,000 |
$133.06 |
$1,597 |
|
$15,000 |
$99.80 |
$1,198 |
|
$10,000 |
$66.53 |
$798 |
|
$5,000 |
$33.27 |
$399 |
|
