Testimony: Parking minimums near transit

WABA supports ZTA 23-10, which would create a vehicle-parking-minimum exemption for residential development near transit. WABA further supports the Planning Board’s ZTA 23-10 recommendations, including that “the effective radius around all types of transit stations should be consistent and be expanded to a one-mile radius.

You can view this document in PDF form here.

Montgomery County Council
Zoning Text Amendment (ZTA) 23-10 Parking, Queuing, and Loading -
Calculation of Required Parking

January 16, 2024

Council President Friedson and Council Members,

The Washington Area Bicyclist Association (WABA) is a nonprofit organization active in Montgomery County and throughout the Washington DC region. We envisiona just and sustainable transportation system where walking, biking, and transit are the best ways to get around.

WABA supports ZTA 23-10, which would create a vehicle-parking-minimum exemption for residential development near transit.

Vehicle-parking minimums reduce housing affordability by associating unnecessary construction costs with the creation of new residential units. These costs are passed on to renters and home-buyers,

Excess vehicle parking may add impervious surface to a project, both for the parking itself and for service roads, therefore imposing stormwater-management and flooding control costs.

Finally – a key reason for WABA’s testimony – parking oversupply encourages driving over walking, transit use, and biking. More driving means more congestion, pollution, energy expenditure, and greenhouse gas emissions, whether vehicles are electric, combustion engine, or hybrid. And of course, construction materials have an environmental cost. ZTA 23-10 is a step toward meeting Montgomery County’s Climate Emergency commitment.

WABA further supports the Planning Board’s ZTA 23-10 recommendations, including that “the effective
radius around all types of transit stations should be consistent and be expanded to a one-mile radius instead of the ½ and ¼ mile radiuses in the ZTA,” for the reasons the board offers.

Thank you for the opportunity to testify.

Seth Grimes, Maryland Organizer
Washington Area Bicyclist Association
seth.grimes@waba.org

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