Car parking provision should be capped at one per property

Collaborative Mobility UK has urged for car parking provision at new housing developments to be capped at a maximum of one space per property.

The charity says that limiting parking spaces in new housing developments to a maximum of one per property would increase the use of shared transport. To achieve this, CoMoUK says that planning policy should be redefined to centre on ‘people and place’, rather than cars, to encourage the use of shared services like car clubs and bike hire which reduce overall car use drastically.

Research shows that where ratios of private car parking to dwellings were low, residents were much more likely to adopt other mobility options. CoMoUK says that hubs for active and shared modes of transport, as well as public transport, should be located closer to people’s front doors to make them more convenient.

Richard Dilks, chief executive of CoMoUK, said: “The UK Government’s commitments to reduce emissions shows the need to move to decarbonising options like shared transport. This behavioural change can be achieved through spatial planning design which encourages a shift away from low occupancy private car use.

“New developments are continuing to be designed and built that do not properly consider the important role shared transport can play in delivering sustainability. Our study shows that making shared transport and active travel more convenient than car use will reduce people’s dependency on private vehicles.”