Developers Reduce Parking Via Car Sharing

Posted: March 17, 2020

Incentivized by city parking policies, private developers provide fewer parking spaces or increase density in new projects.

Proactive solution file by William P. Macht
Urbanland Magazine, summer 2019 Issue page 64-68

At RiDe at Rino (River North), the Denver-based McWhinney investment and development companydeveloped 84 micro-studio units in a fi ve-story building at 3609 Wynkoop Street with 42 parking spacesto ameliorate its lower 0.5 parking ratio. Proponents of car sharing say a single shared car can serve sixto 10 users, so the building’s effecitive parking ratio could be closer to approximately 0.8 space per unit.Chritopher Carvell Architects PC/ www.carvellarchitects.comRiDe at Rino (River North) by Denver-based McWhinney

City and State Incentives

In Denver, the zoning code allows parking space reductions of fi ve required off-street spaces for each on-site car-sharing program space provided. In Portland, for every car-sharing parking space that is provided, the motor vehicle parking requirement is reduced by two spaces, up to a maximum of 25 percent of the required parking spaces. Denver also issues on-street parking permits to car-sharing companies for $850 per vehicle, but users can park cars in those spaces free, without time limits.

The states of Colorado, Minnesota, and Florida exempt car-sharing vehicles from the daily car rental fees charged for conventional car rentals, or they charge reduced fees. Arlington County, Virginia, provides reductions of up to 5o percent of minimum parking requirements for car-sharing agreements that are at least three years in duration.

Developers in and around downtown Denver have contracted to use car2go at varying numbers. At the Grand Apartments in the LoDo (Lower Downtown) district of Denver, San Francisco-based Shorenstein Properties developed 508 units with 446 parking spaces (a 0.9 parking ratio) at 1777 Chestnut Place in two buildings—a 12 story brick-faced building and a 24-story glass building. They share a single car2go car and space.

At RiDE at RiNo (River North), the Denver-based McWhinney investment and development company developed 84 micro-studio units in a fi ve-story building at 3609 WYnkoop Street with 42 parking spaces (24 of which are surface spaces), including tour car2go spaces to ameliorate its lower 0.5.