Oakland officials want to overhaul parking in the city — with a demand-responsive approach that’s already in use in nearby Berkeley and San Francisco. It’s asking for a $2 million grant from the Bay Area’s Metropolitan Transportation Commission to implement the system, which adjusts pricing depending on how busy an area is at any given time, in downtown Oakland and other popular commercial areas.
Matt Nichols, the mayor’s transportation and infrastructure policy director, is in charge of the effort; he previously led the charge on the same change in Berkeley.
According to the East Bay Express:
In most of the business districts included in Oakland’s proposal, the meter rates are uniformly two dollars per hour with a two-hour time limit. Nichols said it was too soon to say exactly how much prices and time limits would change in certain districts and said the city would approach each neighborhood differently based on studies of area trends.
If the grant comes through, the city also plans to establish “parking benefit districts” in order to direct a portion of parking revenues to projects in each neighborhood, and use some funds to promote commuting alternatives to driving.
Just a few weeks ago, Oakland also released plans to revise parking minimums in new development.
Marielle Mondon is an editor and freelance journalist in Philadelphia. Her work has appeared in Philadelphia City Paper, Wild Magazine, and PolicyMic. She previously reported on communities in Northern Manhattan while earning an M.S. in journalism from Columbia University.
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