Impacts of City Level Parking Cashout & Commuter Benefits Ordinances

Free to all industry professionals.   

For many workers, the decision to drive to work is an economically rational one that minimizes their commute costs.

The vast majority of employers offer free workplace parking, with few in comparison offering benefits for transit, walking, biking, or other means of commuting. In effect, employers are incentivizing a behavior that increases roadway congestion, reduces physical activity, and increases emissions. Researchers from ICF and the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) examined these issues and the city-level impacts of various parking cash-out ordinances.

This webinar will present results from a study of five core parking cash-out scenarios applied across a sample of nine cities. The analysis shows substantial potential for reductions in VMT, congestion, emissions, and crashes. Further, the ordinances reflected in some scenarios offer benefits to a greater number of employees, or for a greater number of modes, compared to others. Differences in these offerings have additional implications for equity, which is critical to consider alongside transportation impacts.

The work is relevant for city-level policymakers, practitioners, transportation planners, parking providers, and researchers interested in strategies for parking management and VMT reduction, including those that can support more efficient utilization of parking supply, more equitable distribution of commuter benefits, and subsequent reductions in congestion, emissions, and crashes. 

OFFERS 1 CAPP POINT. 

Learning Objectives

• Recognize several parking cash-out and related commuter benefits city-level policy strategies for more efficient parking management and VMT reduction
• Understand the association between parking and single-occupancy-vehicle (SOV) commuting, and the impacts of parking cash-out and related commuter benefits policies on citywide congestion, emissions, and crashes
• Connect parking cash-out and related commuter benefits city-level policy strategies to improvements in transportation equity

Presenters 

	Gabby Abou-Zeid is a Transportation Data Specialist at ICF, supporting local, state, and federal clients in areas of transportation demand management (TDM), transportation systems management and operations (TSMO), public transportation investments, transportation and land use intersections (especially related to parking), and sustainable mobility. She holds a M.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering (Transportation Emphasis) from Portland State University and B.S. in Sustainable Built Environments from the University of Arizona.
	Allen Greenberg has analyzed and advocated for sustainable U.S transportation policy from both inside and outside of government for over 25 years. As a senior policy analyst at the Federal Highway Administration, Allen cultivates, develops, and manages transportation demand and pricing pilot initiatives and research, including projects related to parking cruising, pricing, management, and policy. Allen holds a Masters in Urban and Regional Planning and a B.S. in Public Policy and Management.