How Off-Street Parking Impacts Cities: Chicago Edition

Today the Chaddick Institute of Metropolitan Development at DePaul University – an authority on urban transit ecosystems – issued an extensive statistical study indicating that cities should start thinking about off-street parking as a solution for getting cars off the road faster and reducing congestion.

The study specifically focuses on Chicago and how the utilization of parking booking platforms like SpotHero that direct people to off-street parking facilities could save the city at least $10M per year in social benefits like less congestion and pollution and improved safety.

Why aren’t more cities already thinking about parking?

The reality is that many cities have overlooked the value of parking because it’s traditionally inefficient for customers. Even today, Chicago drivers spend about 1.22 extra miles per trip circling for parking because they don’t have visibility into what their options are and what they cost.

The parking industry has made substantial strides towards improving the customer experience both online, when they’re looking for parking, and on site, when they arrive. But this study makes it clear that there’s still work ahead to prove to cities that all that available downtown parking inventory is actually easy for drivers to find and use. Because if drivers aren’t using it, it’s not a solution. 

 SpotHero wants to get cities to this place because the way we see it, we all benefit from them thinking of off-street parking as a way to address escalating traffic and congestion. And they have to act fast, as the number of cars on the streets is increasing even as shared-use transportation models like bikes, scooters, and ridehailing get more popular.

 How is SpotHero helping to make this happen?

It’s one thing to pontificate about how parking should fit into the urban mobility puzzle. But we sought out the Chaddick Institute’s expertise and airtight methodology because we wanted facts on the impact off-street parking could have on cities – and to use those facts to motor towards making something happen.

 The report’s findings indicate that parking booking platforms like SpotHero add significant value for customers and cities, and for parking operators, too. By listing off-street parking inventory on digital platforms and pricing based on demand from drivers, operators can maximize revenue while more closely aligning their decisions with municipal public policy goals.

 The takeaway: We can do this, but only together. 

 The thesis of the Chaddick Institute’s study isn’t that parking booking platforms are the holy grail of parking technology and will single-handedly save cities from being swallowed by congestion. On top of being blatantly self-promotional, stating that here just wouldn’t be true. 

 The takeaway is that we – as in, the whole parking industry – can be what cities need in order to solve for congested curbs and stuffed-up streets by providing transparency and ease of use for customers from start to finish.

 As a technology company that powers, among other things, the largest parking marketplace in North America, we see our role here as the digital platform that raises awareness of valuable off-street parking locations for consumers who otherwise would circle, searching, and contribute to the worsening issue of congestion.