1. Introduction
1.1 Overview
Throughout the United States, transportation agencies have begun implementing advanced parking information systems to increase customer satisfaction and to improve traffic operations. Through the use of variable message signs (VMS), these systems provide motorists with real-time information about parking availability at appropriate decision points on their route so that they can make an informed decision about where to park. These systems are being deployed in a variety of environments, including central business districts, airports, and transit park-and-ride lots. The goals in deploying such systems can vary depending on the operating environment. When deployed in a transit environment, goals can include improved user satisfaction, increased parking utilization at a lot that is currently under-utilized, and increased transit ridership.
As the exact benefits of deploying a parking management system in a transit environment have yet to be determined, the United States Department of Transportation's (USDOT) ITS Joint Program Office and Federal Transit Administration (FTA) elected to pursue a national evaluation of this technology. The USDOT selected an independent evaluation team to assess the impacts of two recent deployments: one in Chicago, Illinois and the other in Montgomery County, Maryland. The evaluation team worked closely with the project participants to obtain the data required to conduct a successful evaluation of these two deployments.
This report documents the findings of this independent evaluation. The study documents quantifiable system impacts in terms of parking utilization, transit ridership, traffic circulation, and customer satisfaction. This report also includes institutional issues and lessons learned by the project stakeholders throughout deployment and operation of these systems.
1.2 Organization of the Report
The remainder of the Evaluation Report is structured as follows:
- Section 2 – Chicago Project: This section provides background information on the Chicago project, information about the goals and objectives of the evaluation of that project, information about the data sources that were used in the study, and information about the findings of the evaluation.
- Section 3 – Montgomery County Project: This section provides background information on the Montgomery County project, information about the goals and objectives of that project, information about the data sources that were used in the study, and information about the findings of the evaluation.
- Section 5 – Institutional Issues and Lessons Learned: This section provides information on institutional issues and lessons learned by the project stakeholders throughout the course of the deployment and operation of these systems.
- Section 6 – Conclusions: This section provides a summary of the findings of the study as well as overall conclusions.