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3 decade. The literature review revealed the breadth of work to date on this topic; it also served to identify topic areas that are not documented. This is explored in chapter three. The second data collection approach was an original survey distributed to transit agency staff. Rather than create a statis- tical sample, the agencies were selected with guidance from the project panel to ensure a broad representation of transit agencies in terms of geography, type of transit service, annual ridership, land use context, and other factors. Some survey respondents own, manage, and/or operate substantial parking facilities, other agencies have a more limited parking supply, and some respondents do not own, manage, or operate any parking facilities. The survey was distributed to transit agency staff only. The survey was designed to cover specific concerns and challenges. It included 47 multiple choice and open-ended questions, incorporating topics such as agency structure and organization, transit services provided, parking inven- tory and utilization, parking management policies, and agency policies related to current and future parking goals. The survey questions are listed in Appendix A. The survey was distributed by e-mail to transit agency staff. In addition to an online form, participants received the survey in a printable format to share with colleagues and assist in the collection of answers. Recipients had 2 weeks in February 2015 to complete the survey. Of the 46 survey recipients, 37 were fully completed, yielding a response rate of 80.4%. The survey respondents are shown in Figure 1 and listed in Appendix B. Survey data are supplemented by National Transit Database data from October 2014. In addition, several brief agency profiles showcase transit agency parking policies based on the literature, documentation provided by the agency, responses to the survey, and telephone interviews. The agency profiles provide more detailed informa- tion illustrating major themes that emerged from the literature review and survey. REPORT ORGANIZATION The report is organized as follows. Chapter one introduces the study scope of work, methodology, and approach. Chapter two presents a summary of transit agency parking BACKGROUND Parking is a significant factor influencing transit access and ridership. An increasing number of communities and transit agencies have been revising their parking policies to encour- age the use of transit and to minimize resources expended on parking. Some of these community and agency policies have included pricing, supply and demand management, shared parking, and preferential treatment for specific groups. Recent implementation of parking policies and programs by transit agencies affords the opportunity to assess how effective they have been and to inform local communities and transit agen- cies of successful practices. This synthesis documents the current state of the practice in transit parking policies and programs. This information will help transit agencies determine how parking policies can most effectively serve their customers while optimizing tran- sit access and ridership. This effort relies on information pro- vided through a literature review on the state of the practice in transit agency parking policies, an original survey designed to gather comprehensive parking information from a diverse set of transit agencies, and several agency profiles to explore key topics in more detail. PROJECT OBJECTIVES The overall objectives of this synthesis are to document evolv- ing parking practices among transit agencies and identify the complex factors involved in how parking and transit service intersect. The synthesis is intended to serve as: ⢠A knowledge base for transit agencies currently provid- ing or considering providing parking facilities to riders, especially agencies that are evaluating the acquisition or leasing of land primarily for parking. ⢠A reference source for local governments exploring, developing, or implementing transit-oriented and transit- supportive land use policies, particularly with regard to parking regulation and management. METHODOLOGY AND APPROACH Three study efforts inform this synthesis. First, a review of relevant literature was conducted. This included a variety of sources with a focus on published literature from the past chapter one INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW
4 policies as gleaned from the literature review, survey, and agency profiles. Chapter three reviews relevant pub- lished literature and identifies gaps in the published sub- ject matter. Chapter four summarizes the salient findings from the online survey responses and includes eight agency FIGURE 1 Map of survey respondents. profiles. Finally, chapter five recaps overall findings and opportunities for further research. Appendix A pre- sents the survey instrument, Appendix B lists the survey respondents, and Appendix C displays a table of survey responses.
