Transit Oriented Parking Reform in Virginia

The amount of parking required near WMATA stations in Arlington, Virginia could soon drop, reports Andrew Dupuy, in "a move that reflects a growing understanding of how excess parking promotes urban sprawl and traffic congestion and drives up housing prices."

The Residential Parking Working Group has been working at the requet of the Arlington County manager to examine parking ratios for multi-family buildings built under special exemptions along certain corridors in Arlington County.

"Key recommendations [pdf] from the working group, which county officials say carry significant weight, include greatly reduced minimum parking requirements (MPRs) based on proximity to Metro, as well as reduced parking requirements in affordable housing units and for buildings where bike parking spaces, Capital Bikeshare stations, and car-sharing parking spaces are provided," writes Dupuy.

The article includes more detail on the recommendations, with breaks its reduced parking minimums into two tiers based on the size of the development and the proximity of the development to a WMATA station. Dupuy concludes the article by endorsing the recommendations for their benefit to affordability and walkability in Arlington County.