Vienna: Streets Ahead Swapping Parking For Green Spaces
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Conscious of reaching climate goals and strapped for space, some cities are reconsidering how much they dedicate to parking.
Anyone who has had the experience of trying to find a parking spot in a major city knows it can take a very long time. For example, Los Angeles residents sacrifice more than 80 hours a year hunting for a place to leave their cars. That is despite the fact that most US cities dedicate at least a quarter of their developable land to them - greatly determining the way a city looks. And, as everyone is starting to realise, means covering large swathes of urban areas in heat-absorbing asphalt, which contributes to making summers hotter and heightens the risk of flooding since it prevents drainage during storms and heavy rainfall.
Sponge Cities: If you don't already live in a sponge city, you soon will. Less pavement and more green spaces help absorb water instead of funnelling it all away - a win-win for people and urban ecosystems.
Long renowned among residents for slow-crawling traffic and infuriating parking hunts, the Austrian capital of Vienna is taking an unusual approach to solving the problem. Far from adding new lots, it is removing on-street parking. The idea is to break up concrete, not only to cool things off in summer but to encourage alternative transit options. And, of course, to reduce pollution and enhance wellbeing.
With more than 350 projects focused on converting asphalt into green and public spaces, the city is removing a lot of parking, making space for community gardens, outdoor dining areas, and children's play spaces. And there's been another big change: no more free parking, anywhere.
Even though it's now even more difficult to park in the city, the authorities in Vienna have still ensured that drivers have options. It has established several "park and rides" for commuters - large parking garages with cheap all-day parking connected directly to mass transit, which is also affordable, well-connected and fast. Expanding paid parking zones brings in €180 million ($209 million) annually, which the city puts directly into cycling infrastructure to encourage alternative mobility. Vienna's green urban agenda has seen residents using cars 37 percent less than they did in the 1990s.
Ina Homeier of Vienna's Department of Urban Planning and Development says changing mindsets is all about ensuring choice. "You cannot reduce anything without offering a good alternative. That's true in general, but especially for cars, which many people feel they have a right to have. You need to offer a cheap and better alternative."
