Characteristics of Parking in Central Shanghai, China

Abstract

A survey was conducted to study the characteristics of parking in central Shanghai, with the selected survey areas classified as typical market areas, business- and office-oriented areas, and food- and drink-oriented areas. Different land use types and parking facilities were analyzed based on characteristic parking indexes, including parking saturation, peak parking ratio, parking turnover rate, and parking duration. It was found that market areas and food- and drink-oriented areas exhibit high parking saturation; in business- and office-oriented areas, the total parking space supply is sufficient to meet current parking demands, but the proportion of spaces open for visitor parking is insufficient. In market areas and business- and office-oriented areas, the occupancy of unfenced surface parking lots is generally higher than that of fenced car parks or garages. Moreover, some garages are inconveniently located and lack guidance information, which results in a low parking space utilization rate. Furthermore, policies are proposed to improve parking in Shanghai based on the city’s current parking status. Parking supply policies are suggested for market areas, business- and office-oriented areas, food- and drink-oriented areas, and public car parks and garages. Pricing differentiation strategies and information technology (such as parking guidance technology and “smart meters” with demand-responsive pricing) should be applied to rebalance the use of all parking facility types and to provide drivers with more parking choices in Shanghai. An integrated public transport system (including urban rail transit, feeder buses, shuttle buses, and publicly shared bikes) should be developed to improve the share of public transport in traffic, which will alleviate future parking difficulties in Shanghai.