Demand-Based Pricing for On-Street Parking Pilot Finds Success in D.C.

The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) recently published a final report to analyze the results of its year-long Penn Quarter/Chinatown Parking Pricing Pilot program, reports Bryan Barnett-Woods.

The results of the study "indicate that pricing parking according to demand can be successfully used not only to manage supply, but also to reduce congestion, improve safety, and encourage people to use other forms of transportation," explains Barnett-Woods.

The article includes background on the idea of priced parking and the reasoning behind the pilot program in question. DDOT set up demand-based pricing on-street in the Penn Quarter and Chinatown neighborhoods in the hopes of achieving these three goals:

1. Reduce time to find an available parking space
2. Reduce congestion and pollution, improve safety, and encourage use of other modes
3. Develop parking management solutions through a cost-effective asset-lite approach

According to the report, the pilot project achieved its goals, and revealed demand-based pricing for on-street parking to be an effective tool.