TDM Strategy | Parking

Unbundled Parking Overview

Local governments can implement unbundled parking requirements or incentives to separate the cost of parking from the cost of multifamily housing. This approach encourages multifamily housing developments to offer parking separately from the rent or purchase price for every household so that residents may choose whether to lease or purchase a parking space. Doing so allows households without a vehicle, or with fewer vehicles, to avoid paying for parking they do not use.

Parking availability and cost are strongly associated with vehicle ownership and driving. Unbundled parking is impactful because it makes the cost of vehicle storage visible and gives residents a stronger reason to consider whether they need a vehicle, a second vehicle, or a dedicated parking space. When paired with multimodal transportation options, this strategy can support housing affordability, reduce excess parking supply, and create opportunities to use the space for housing, bicycle parking, EV charging, carshare or other mobility amenities, in addition to the significant potential to reduce VMT. Without transportation alternatives, however, unbundling may provide fewer benefits and could increase costs for households that have little practical choice to own a vehicle.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Project Examples

• Boulder Junction Transportation Demand Management District- Urban

  • By combining unbundled parking for residents, increased density, parking maximums, shared parking, EcoPasses, bikeshare, and more, Boulder Junction gives residents more flexibility to own fewer vehicles and rely on non-driving modes for everyday trips.

• Willits Bend- Suburban

  • This mixed-use multifamily project in Basalt, Colorado applies unbundled and managed parking in a smaller community context with nearby transit, bikeshare, and walkable destinations.

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Key Resources

• Metropolitan Area Planning Council- Perfect Fit Parking: Local data and practical guidance for right-sizing and unbundling residential parking
• Parking Reform Network- Resources: Implementation resources, case studies, and policy tools for parking reform
• Sightline Institute- Parking Reform: Accessible research on parking costs, housing, and transportation behavior
• Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development- Unbundling Parking Guidance: Guidance for implementing unbundled parking policies and separating parking costs from residential and commercial rents
• Journal of Transport and Land Use- The High Cost of Free Parking, Revisited: Research on parking requirements, parking costs, and the relationship among parking policy, development, and transportation behavior

Measuring Success

Parking price pass-through: the proportion of residents who use parking pay a separate, visible charge for a parking space (as opposed to a bundled cost with housing) and serves as a good starting metric to evaluate the proliferation of unbundled parking. Direct evaluation like overnight parking use counts and resident vehicle-ownership surveys can be used to evaluate whether unbundling is associated with lower parking demand or fewer vehicles per household (especially including comparison with conditions before implementation or similar developments with bundled parking). Ultimately, unbundled parking’s success hinges on VMT reductions, and while direct VMT data is not available, changes in parking price, vehicle ownership, and parking use can support estimation of VMT using an established methodology.

Parking Cash Out Overview

The parking cash-out strategy gives employees who do not use employer-paid or subsidized parking an opportunity to receive value from that parking subsidy. Employees who carpool, vanpool, take transit, bike, walk, telework, or otherwise do not use the parking space may receive a cash payment instead. By allowing employees who do not use employer-provided parking to receive some or all of its value as a cash benefit, parking cash-out removes an implicit incentive to drive and can encourage shifts to other modes of transportation.

Parking cash-out is most useful where employers lease, own, or subsidize parking and where employees have practical alternatives to driving alone. It can be especially relevant for large employment centers, campuses, hospitals, resorts, office districts, and other worksites where parking demand or parking costs are significant. Local governments can support parking cash-out through requirements or incentives, employer outreach and technical assistance, and complementary investments in transit, biking, walking, and shared mobility.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Project Examples

• Denver South Alternative Transportation Options Tax Credit Employer Support- Suburban

  • By helping employers use a tax credit (HB22-1026) to fund employee commute benefits, like transit passes, vanpool subsidies, parking cash-out, shuttles, bikeshare, e-bikes, shared micromobility, secure bike parking, and other alternative transportation options. This program, once fully realized, can reduce employee parking demand, support transit and shared commuting, and make non-driving commute options more financially attractive.

• Rocky Mountain Institute/Boulder Commons Parking Cash-Out Program- Urban

  • By implementing a parking cash-out program in an already-parking limited location, Rocky Mountain Institute showed how parking cash-out can change the daily commute decision when paired with practical alternatives to driving. By providing financial incentive to avoid SOV travel and choose transit, biking, walking, or shared mobility options instead, RMI discovered measurable changes in commuter behavior, including reductions in SOV travel and associated emissions.

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Key Resources

• Parking Reform Network- Parking Cash-Out: A concise practitioner-oriented explanation of parking cash-out policy
• UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies- Parking Cash-Out Research: Foundational evidence on travel behavior changes from parking cash-out
• Victoria Transport Policy Institute- Parking Cash-out: Implementation considerations, benefits, and evaluation guidance

Measuring Success

• Cash-out participation and drive-alone commute share: This approach helps employers measure whether employees are using the cash-out option and whether commuting behavior is shifting away from driving alone. Employers can then use these changes in commute mode to estimate reductions in commute VMT.

Parking Benefits District Overview

A parking benefit district (PBD) is an area designated by a local government where parking revenues are used to support parking management and improvements within the district. Local governments may consider a PBD where demand for public parking is consistently high, drivers have difficulty finding available spaces, spillover affects surrounding neighborhoods, or a community is considering introducing or expanding paid parking.

PBDs are strongest in downtowns, main streets, commercial corridors, station areas, and neighborhoods near high-demand destinations where unmanaged parking creates congestion, conflicts, or frustration. Connecting parking revenues to visible community improvements can also help build public and political support for introducing or changing parking prices.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Project Example

• Boulder Central Area General Improvement District- Urban

  • By coordinating parking operations, pricing, enforcement, and access with broader downtown transportation goals, CAGID helps manage parking demand, reduce vehicle circling and congestion, and encourage the use of walking, bicycling, transit, and shared mobility options.

• Fort Collins Downtown Parking Management Updates- Urban

  • By aligning parking prices and revenues with the cost of managing the parking system, such a program can reduce pressure for each destination to provide its own parking and support a more coordinated approach to downtown access. In a walkable downtown, this system can support a “park once” environment, where visitors park in a convenient location and walk between multiple destinations rather than driving and parking at each stop.

• City of Aspen Paid Parking Program- Rural/Resort

  • Aspen manages paid downtown parking through a program designed to reduce congestion, improve air quality, and preserve the character of the community. Paid parking is used to manage demand in high-activity areas, and parking revenues support free public transit services in addition to other TDM programming for the city.

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Key Resources

• Parking Reform Network- Parking Benefit Districts: A community-oriented overview of dedicating parking revenue to local improvements
• Victoria Transport Policy Institute- Parking Management: A broad framework for pricing, benefit districts, and parking management
• Donald Shoup- Parking Benefit District Resources: Research and presentations on returning parking revenue to the neighborhoods that generate it

Measuring Success

• Whether parking revenue is being reinvested in ways that improve access and mobility within the district:
  • How much parking revenue is generated
  • The share reinvested locally
  • The types of improvements funded
    
    • Sidewalks, lighting, transit amenities, bike facilities, carshare spaces, safety improvements, maintenance, district operations.
• Parking occupancy, average duration, turnover per space, and cruising to determine whether parking management is improving availability and reducing the time spent searching for parking
• Traffic volumes, to estimate changes in VMT
• Commercial activity, pedestrian activity, visitation

Overview

Local government policies that repeal parking minimums remove requirements for new development to provide a fixed minimum number of off-street parking spaces. Removing parking minimums does not prohibit developers from providing parking; rather, it gives them flexibility to determine how much parking is appropriate based on the site, market demand, available transportation options, and community context.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

Repealing a parking minimum does not itself reduce parking; it removes the requirement to build a specified number of spaces. Parking is reduced when developers choose to provide fewer spaces in response to demand, development costs, location, and available transportation options. Because structured and surface parking consume land and add development costs, removing minimums allows developers to provide less parking where expected demand does not justify the additional cost. Removing minimums can:

• Make infill and adaptive reuse easier
• Reduce land devoted to excess parking
• Help create spaces where walking, biking, transit, and shared mobility are more practical

Project Examples

• Denver Modernizing Parking Requirements- Urban
  
  • Denver removed minimum vehicle parking requirements citywide in August 2025, removing a regulatory requirement that can increase development costs, consume land, and encourage excess vehicle ownership.
• City of Longmont Parking Reforms- Suburban
  
  • Longmont removed minimum parking requirements citywide in 2024 and replaced them with parking maximums. Now, the city can support more efficient land use, lower development costs, and make walking, biking, transit, and shared mobility more viable in mixed-use and growing areas

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Key Resources

• Parking Reform Network- Mandates Map and Resources: Current examples and implementation resources from communities reforming parking requirements
• Strong Towns- Parking Reform: Accessible explanations and local government examples focused on land use and fiscal outcomes
• UCLA Institute of Transportation Studies- Parking Minimum Research: Research on the effects of minimum parking requirements and reform

Measuring Success 

• Compare the number of spaces that would have been required under the former code with the number proposed or built after repeal.
• Measure on-site and nearby curb occupancy after projects are occupied to determine whether parking supply meets actual demand.
• Track vehicle ownership, SOV mode share, trip generation, or VMT for developments that provide less parking and compare results with similar developments built under previous parking requirements.

Overview

Going a step further than parking minimums, parking maximums set an upper limit on how many parking spaces a development can provide. They are a valuable TDM strategy because they prevent long-term overinvestment in parking in places where land is valuable and practical alternatives to driving exist or are being improved. They work best when paired with shared parking, effective parking management, and transportation options that allow sites to function with less parking.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

• May be applied as a firm cap or designed with flexibility, allowing additional parking when a project provides public benefits like shared parking, a fee-in-lieu payment, affordable housing, streetscape improvements, or TDM commitments.
• Require careful calibration - a fixed maximum may not perfectly reflect actual parking demand.
  
  • Communities may therefore consider targeted maximum or flexible standards

Project Examples

• Denver MPR/Parking Maximums Near Rail Stations- Urban

  • Denver’s rules that repealed minimums also limits how many parking spaces can be built near rail stations within one-quarter mile and in certain downtown garage contexts. These standards are intended to prevent excessive parking supply in areas where multimodal alternatives are available.

• Longmont Citywide Parking Maximums- Suburban

  • Replacing Longmont’s minimum parking requirements with maximums, Longmont gives developers flexibility to provide parking based on actual demand while limiting excessive parking supply.

• City of Glenwood Springs Parking Maximums- Rural/Resort

  • Glenwood’s development code includes parking maximums for non-residential and mixed-use districts, where developers may not provide more than 125% of the minimum required. This standard helps limit excessive parking supply in areas where land is constrained and where downtown, mixed-use, visitor, and local access needs must be balanced.

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Key Resources

• Parking Reform Network- Resources: Policy examples and implementation tools for right-sizing parking supply
• Victoria Transport Policy Institute- Parking Management: Guidance on maximums, shared parking, pricing, and complementary strategies
• Sustainable City Code- Parking Maximums: A concise model-policy brief connecting parking caps with land use and sustainability goals

Measuring Success

Local agencies can use changes in parking supply to estimate potential VMT and GHG reductions. Also, by comparing the parking supply relative to the maximum, agencies can determine whether the maximum is actually resulting in less parking being built rather than simply confirming compliance with the code in a case where the maximums are set too high.

Overview

Communities can manage limited curb space through approaches that allocate and regulate space along the curb among competing uses, including:

• On-street parking
• Loading
• Deliveries
• Passenger pickup and drop-off
• Transit stops
• Bike facilities
• Parklets
• Accessible parking

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Takeaways

Rather than treating the curb as free, time unlimited, and first-come, first-served, this strategy allows communities to manage curb space in the context of location, time, price, and user need. Communities may use occupancy targets to adjust pricing or other regulations; a commonly cited target is approximately 85 percent occupancy, leaving about one space available per block so that drivers can find parking without excessive searching. This strategy is especially useful in downtowns, main streets, commercial corridors, school areas, event districts, resort cores, and transit-rich areas where curb conflicts can create congestion, unsafe conditions, or unreliable access.

Project Examples

• Denver Citywide Curbside Action Plan- Urban
  
  • Through this policy implemented in 2024, Denver provides a framework for managing curb space across street types and land use contexts. By treating the curb as limited public space that must serve more than vehicle storage, Denver can improve access to businesses and destinations; support walking, biking, transit, and shared mobility; and reduce drive-alone trips.
• Durango Downtown Parking Management- Rural
  • Durango uses 30-minute, 3-hour, and 10-hour parking meters in their Central Business District to manage different curb users, including quick customer turnover near businesses, longer visitor parking for tourists, and business parking at the edges of downtown.

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Key Resources

• NACTO- Curb Appeal: A multimodal framework for allocating and managing curb space
• Open Mobility Foundation- Curb Data Specification: Open-source data standards for digital curb management
• Shared-Use Mobility Center- Curb Management Resources: Case studies on balancing deliveries, transit, shared mobility, parking, and public space

Measuring Success

• Measure occupancy by curb segment, time period, and user type (listed above) to adjust prices or regulations, with the goal of maintaining some available spaces and reducing cruising.
• Measure whether curb space is serving more people, deliveries, or mobility after a curb management change
• Compare vehicle circulation before and after curb management changes using traffic counts on key streets, parking occupancy and turnover data, or observation of cruising times.

Overview

Communities can implement dynamic parking pricing to adjust parking prices over time in response to demand and parking availability. Prices may vary by location, time of day, season, or occupancy but increase when demand is high and decrease when demand is low.

For more information see the TDM Toolkit (PDF Version).

Key Details

• The goal is not simply to charge more for parking, but to manage demand so that spaces remain available where and when they are needed.
• The TDM benefit of dynamic pricing comes from reducing the time drivers spend circling for parking and from making high-demand curb space reflect its actual value.
• Some programs use a target occupancy of around 80-85% as a benchmark for adjusting prices, although appropriate targets vary by location and community goals.

Project Examples

• Boulder Performance-Based Parking Pricing- Urban
  
  • In Boulder, parking rates vary by block based on demand, with higher rates in locations where parking is more heavily used and lower rates in less constrained areas. This approach intends to improve parking availability, encourage turnover, and better use both the on-street and off-street parking supply.
• Manitou Springs Progressive Parking Rates– Rural
  
  • The parking rate structure in Manitou Springs varies by location and duration, with higher cost parking in more convenient or constrained areas and lower cost options farther from downtown. The city also uses occupancy-based rate adjustments for some parking areas, allowing rates to move up or down based on parking use.

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Key Resources

• Shared-Use Mobility Center- Carsharing Learning Module: Program models, planning considerations, and case studies.

Measuring Success

• Agencies can measure:
  • Whether dynamic pricing is keeping parking available without providing too many spaces by tracking target occupancy compliance
  • Whether pricing changes are affecting travel behavior by tracking parking duration and turnover