Originally Posted by
squirtdad
While I am still firm in my theory that it will take economic pressure to move people out of cars and into bikes at a partial level (and with increasing competition for oil (think India and China domestic car markets) and increasing push to reduce anything that contributes to global warming, the primary place that pressure will come in will be gasoline prices) you can also look at rewards to cyclists and disencentives to to drivers.
some ideas:
Companies charge their employees a fee for parking, but reward people who walk, ride, or use mass transit. People need to remember that by no means do all companies offer their employees parking.
Cities could allow businesses to open, without minimum required parking spaces that are often required, as long as they can show they offer bicycle parking and an incentive to customers who use the parking....
It's going to be very difficult to suddenly charge for parking that has been free, especially in businesses that have trade unions, so I don't see much happening there, because every employee who drives will immediately file a grievance, and they should. Probably be easier to simply reduce the number of spaces available.
With parking for other types of business, it can be difficult, because you may get rid of the free parking, but your competitor will then simply advertise that they have free parking, for businesses that are in predominantly car oriented areas, this would be a death blow. Especially if they are not well serviced by transit. I know of 2 malls that have subway stations, and their parking lots are still packed from 8am to midnight, every day.
For business parking space requirements, the key is to gradually reduce the number required, for example if the floor area today requires 40 spaces, you change the bylaw so that it's only 35 spaces, or you modify the type of spaces. For example currently you need 40 spaces, plus 4 wheel chair spaces. You change the law so that you require 40 spaces, including 10% handicapped parking and 10% bicycle oriented parking. Effectively reducing the car spaces required to 32. This could mean a considerable amount of land currently dedicated to car parking becomes available for other things. Take a mall that currently requires 4,000 spaces plus 400 handicapped spaces, you have effectively made 760 spaces available for other uses. In the same law you state the handicapped spaces must be the closest to entrances, and that the bicycle spaces must be the next closest.