Paid Parking

Colleagues,

I'm considering implementing paid resident parking at a small near-campus apartment complex having excess parking and am looking to the collective experience base for information that would inform the decision and indicate how to implement, how much to charge, how to charge, what to expect (degree of acceptance and pushback), and any other perceived relevant info.

I am driven to this consideration by the desire to:

Discourage driving, promote alternative means of transportation, and promote healthier living

Assign a cost to something of value

Cause residents to self-police the parking lot

Develop an additional revenue stream

If you've something to offer I'd appreciate hearing from you.

Best,

Stephan

Stephan,

Just to be clear, are you saying that you are considering charging for current and new resident parking or are you looking to sell parking spaces to students wanting to park off, but near campus?

Yes. New resident and current residents...with lots of notice, of course.

Well, I'm a little on the fence about that subject. I know that there are some properties that are able to charge for parking, but the properties are in highly-sought after areas to live in. I really think it depends on where your property is and what type of product you have to offer. With the properties that I have been involved with, we would not be able to effectively charge for parking spaces and be successful. You mentioned that your community is very close to a school campus; I'm guessing this is a college? If that is the case, you may be able to charge for parking since parking on campus is usually quite high! How much are you considering charging? Are your parking spaces already numbered?

I'm sorry. The property is near a university, in a college town, located a couple of blocks from the entertainment district and on-street paid parking, and in an area where free parking is getting harder and harder to find. Our parking spaces are not numbered. Hang-tags are currently being used with a designated visitors parking area. I was thinking of a monthly rate somewhere between $15 and $25.

I've a multi-family housing competitor with a small complex a few blocks away that is currently charging $25 a month. He said it was a no brainer for him. He does it to encourage no automobile use and offer residents a money saving option.