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rhis change mav indicate a growing
<br />movement to make growth management provi-
<br />sions enacted in recent years more amenable
<br />to marl(et forces. In a recent Oregon ballot ini-
<br />tiatiw], residents voted to force focal govern-
<br />menP. J to choose between waiving develop-
<br />ment restrictions that ne§ativel,t affect land
<br />values or reimbursing properb/owners for lost
<br />value. Property rights advocates in other
<br />states, including Washington, also indicate
<br />interest in pursuing such measures.
<br /> A copy of the Charlotte County, Florida,
<br /> transfer of development rights ordinance rs
<br /> available to Zoning Practice subscribers by
<br /> contacting Michael Oavidson, editor, Zoning
<br /> Practice, at American Planning Association,
<br /> 122 South Michigan Avenue, Suite t6oo,
<br /> Chicago, ii. 6o6o'3, or by sending an e-mail to
<br /> mdavidso nC_)plan ning.or§.
<br /> Sarah K. Wiebenson is a researcherwith the
<br /> American Planning Association
<br />
<br /> PARKING ACCOMMODATIONS FOR SUV5
<br />- BV.]Osh Edwards
<br /> Ar:cording to the Nadonal Parking Association,
<br /> the averar~'e size of light trucks and sport utility
<br /> vehicles is steadily dsin§. Americans are buying
<br /> more new SUVS and heavy-duty pickups than
<br /> passenger cars, the size of which remains reia-
<br /> tiveIy con,~tant. Also, sate of larger SUV models is
<br /> outpacin!; those of "small" SUVs. This means
<br /> that not only are SUVs purchased in greater num-
<br /> bers today than in the past, but Americans are
<br /> now ch~]osin§ the biggest of the big vehicles.
<br /> Fhe prevalence and size of SUVs has
<br /> serious planning implications, particularly
<br /> concerning their effects on public facilities.
<br /> SIJVs arid other oversized vehicles are often
<br /> to,) large to fit conveniently and comfortably
<br /> into the built environment around them.
<br /> Because of this, communities have started to
<br /> examine ti]eir effects on parking facilities.
<br /> Though SUVs were traditionally designed
<br /> to navib, ate through mountainous terrain, such
<br /> mnvement is difficult (if not impossible) in
<br /> concrete subofban parkin§ ~ara§es, For exam-
<br /> pie, !he ceiling of a municipal garage in
<br /> Wa[nL~t Creek, California, constructed in the
<br /> early ~99os, ,vas too iow to allow ia[e-model,
<br /> bigger ';IJVs to reach the upper floors. After
<br /> Horicin!~ a growm§ number of incidents where
<br /> oversized vehicles would strike ceiling beams
<br /> ,Jnd '~ut)port columnS, city offidals designated
<br /> two rows of spaces on the ground floor specif-
<br /> icallymroversizedvehides. Today, the
<br /> !,~ara~'5 5UV parking area accounts for
<br /> .~i)pr[~ximatety ~o of the 54° total garage
<br />
<br />spaceS. This section is restricted to vehicles
<br />of at toast six feet, five inches in height,
<br />which are §enerally SUVs or full-size vans.
<br />Shorter vehicles parking in these spaces are
<br />ticketed iust as large vehicles would be in
<br />.compact spaces. Meter readers carry six-foot,
<br />five-inch measuring sticks to assist them.
<br /> Rinta Perkins, assistant engineer for
<br />Walnut Creek, says public-feedback is mostly
<br />positive, but there are still too few parking
<br />spaces for SUVs. The garage is located in a
<br />busy area and SUV-only parking flus quickiyl
<br />Once the section for SUVs is fully occupied,
<br />other SUVs cannot park in the garage. Many
<br />residents would tike the city to add more
<br />SUV-onlv parking; says Perkins.
<br /> The width and length of many tight trucks
<br /> makes parking in standard-size spaces difficult.
<br /> Vehicle height does not provide as great of diffi-
<br /> curly. Standard parking spaces are typically
<br /> seven feet, six inches wide and tS feet long.
<br /> Large SUVs and other light trucks are often
<br /> larger. For example, th~ Lincoln Navigator is z7
<br /> feet, two inches and the Ford Excursion is ~.8
<br /> feet, nine inches tong. The width of many light
<br /> trucks is roughly six feet, six inches.
<br /> Paid Alto, California, passed a law in
<br /> t999 limiting vehicle dimension in public
<br /> parking lots to a maximum width of six feet
<br /> and a length of t5 feet. The law also penal-
<br /> izes drivers who fail to park between parking
<br /> space lines. Any vehicle (large or small) tak-
<br /> ing up two spaces or parking over the painted
<br /> lines is ticketed. Paid Alto traffic sergeant
<br /> Steve Herrera says the law is successful. He
<br /> says tickets are issued on a case-by-case
<br /> basis, often as a result of telephone com-
<br /> plaints that an SUV is parked in a compact
<br /> space. Though some may feel the taw unfairly
<br /> targets SUV owners, Herrera says. the intent
<br /> is to thwart "lazy" parkers and to maximize
<br /> the efficiency of city parking lots.
<br /> Walnut Creek and Pard Alto address SUV
<br /> size issues throu§h measures that both accom-
<br /> modate and restrict. Though these California
<br /> communities found reasonably a§reeable solu-
<br /> tions, should planners nationwide consider
<br /> SUV-onty parking? Perhaps this would relieve
<br /> drivers in passenger cars from the stresses of
<br /> navigating around large SUVs [n tight parking
<br /> areas. Also, would planning accommodations
<br /> such as those in the California examples aclu-
<br /> ally encourage the sale of energy-consuming
<br /> SUVs? Rather [han reactionary police enforce-
<br /> ment measures, pianners should instead recon-
<br /> sider the dimensions cited in local parking
<br /> standards as a potential solution. Enlarging
<br />
<br />parking spaces by one foot in both length and
<br />width would accommodate large vehicles more
<br />easily, but it would also call for more pavement
<br />to accommodate the same number of vehicles.
<br />For private interests, such as shopping center
<br />tenants, one solution is to limit SUV-only park-
<br />ing to a portion of a tot, or allow it in specified
<br />· districts. Larger spaces would result in an
<br />increased cost per space for the development of
<br />new parking tots. Likewise, existing tots that are
<br />re-striped for tar§er vehicles would yield fewer
<br />customers from fewer parking spaces.
<br /> The popularity of SOVs and heaw-duty
<br /> pickups will likely continue, despite economic
<br /> and environmental concerns coming from a
<br /> variety of environmental and planning organi-
<br /> zations, scientific institutions, and political
<br /> constituencies. As consumer p.grchases of
<br /> SUVs climb to new heights, it stand~ to reason
<br /> that demand for SUV-onty parking could follow
<br /> suit. Barring a reversal in American automo-
<br /> bile tastes, planners and elected officials
<br /> across the countn/will undoubtedly be forced
<br /> to ask the questions posed here.
<br /> Josh Edwards is a researcher with the
<br /> American Planning Association
<br />
<br />VOL =:z, NO. 2
<br />Zoning Practice is a monthly publication of the
<br />American Ptannin§ Association. Subscriptions are
<br />avai[ab[e for $65 (U.S.) and $9° (foreign). W. Paul
<br />Farmer, A~c~, Executive Oirector; WiUiam R. Klein,
<br />A~CP, Director of Research.
<br />Zoning Practice (ISSN t548-o~.35) is produced at
<br />APA. lira Schwab, AICP, and Michael Oavidson,
<br />Editors; 8am/Bain~ AICP, Fay Dolnick, Iosh Edwards,
<br />Megan Lewis, ^~CP, Ma~/a Morris, A~cP, Rebecca
<br />Retzlaff, ^~cP, Lynn M. Ross, Sarah K. Wiebenson.
<br />Reporters; lulie Von Bergen, Assistant Editor; Lisa
<br />Barton, Design and Production.
<br />
<br /> Copyright ©2oo5 by American Planning
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