One-third of the city’s downtown is used for parking while thousands of parking spaces go unused during peak hours.
A survey of land use in downtown Tampa, Florida reveals that one-third of the area is taken up by parking, a finding echoed in a recent similar study of Salt Lake City. Meanwhile, 6,000 of 24,000 downtown parking spaces went unused during peak hours, reports Kate Oberdorfer in Creative Loafing Tampa Bay.
According to the article, “Since 2020, Tampa City Council has approved over 100 rezonings where the number of parking spots was waived below what the code required. Last year, the city controversially slashed free parking in Ybor City by 26%. Council has also approved amendments to the downtown zoning code and is working with the Mobility Department and Parking Division to draft a Parking Master Plan to address the parking issue.”
Neighboring St. Petersburg gives up 24 percent of its downtown land to parking, but the city’s Transportation and Parking Management Director, Evan Mory, says “the Sunshine City is softly and systemically reducing the number of surface parking lots; replacing these lots with structured parking as well as re-purposing the land for more people-friendly spaces.”
But Mory also added that “surface parking lots are good place holders; they’re consistent income for the city and they keep property taxes down. Until the city can figure out how to better develop the lots, surface parking isn’t such a terrible use of the land.”
FULL STORY: A third of downtown Tampa is parking lots, city planners say they are actively trying to fix that
New Hampshire House Passes Parking Reform Bill
The revised bill, which caps parking requirements at one spot per residential unit and eliminates exemptions, will go back to the Senate for a new vote.
Washington State’s Parking Reform Law Could Unlock ‘Countless’ Acres for New Housing
A law that limits how much parking cities can require for residential amd commercial developments could lead to a construction boom.
Montana Bill Promotes Parking Reform
A bill before the Montana state senate would bar cities from requiring more than one parking spot per new housing unit.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
Chicago’s Ghost Rails
Just beneath the surface of the modern city lie the remnants of its expansive early 20th-century streetcar system.
Amtrak Cutting Jobs, Funding to High-Speed Rail
The agency plans to cut 10 percent of its workforce and has confirmed it will not fund new high-speed rail projects.
Ohio Forces Data Centers to Prepay for Power
Utilities are calling on states to hold data center operators responsible for new energy demands to prevent leaving consumers on the hook for their bills.
MARTA CEO Steps Down Amid Citizenship Concerns
MARTA’s board announced Thursday that its chief, who is from Canada, is resigning due to questions about his immigration status.
Silicon Valley ‘Bike Superhighway’ Awarded $14M State Grant
A Caltrans grant brings the 10-mile Central Bikeway project connecting Santa Clara and East San Jose closer to fruition.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Caltrans
City of Fort Worth
Mpact (founded as Rail~Volution)
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
City of Portland
City of Laramie