Park4SUMP releases new SUMP topic guide on parking

POLIS Network, as part of the EU-funded CIVITAS Park4SUMP project, published an ‘ELTIS topic guide on parking and SUMP’ in cooperation with the project partners UIRS, Napier University, Mobiel21 and Difu. Since Park4SUMP is the only project that solely focuses on the topic of parking, this ELTIS topic guide is adding an aspect to the existing topic guide library. The contribution to ‘ELTIS Topic Guide on Parking and SUMP - Using parking management to achieve SUMP objectives effectively and sustainably’ is available here.

The four Park4SUMP focus topics of on- and off-street parking, as well as parking strategy measures, and innovation in parking management are highlighted. This unique combination of project results, the SUMP framework and the results of more than four years of research constitute this handy guide for city officials that aim to review or set up a parking management strategy in line with their SUMP.

Since parking policy, and any potential change of it, is a highly contested issue in most European cities, integration of parking measures into a SUMP can foster the acceptance of change and accelerate the long-term goals of the local SUMP. As stated in the topic guide: The key point regarding parking in sustainable urban mobility planning is that it has to be seen not simply as something to facilitate parking a vehicle, but as a core and strategic measure for managing travel demand and achieving SUMP objectives (P18).

An additional strength of the topic guide is the highlighting of those phases in the SUMP planning cycle where potential parking management measures can be extremely helpful. This link between policy recommendations from the Park4SUMP consortium and the reference to the related step in the SUMP cycle is very helpful.