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Study RWTH Aachen: Parking Spaces Harm Business
The results of a new study by RTWH Aachen have shown that contrary to the claims of many politicians and business owners, public transportation stops, pedestrian zones, and nearby public parking garages increase the attractiveness of retail locations. In fact, the opposite of the widespread parking space thesis is true, according to the researchers at the university: A lot of street parking in the immediate vicinity lowers retail rents. However, sufficient parking should be conveniently accessible on foot. This insight supports the approach of reducing street parking in city centers and concentrating stationary traffic in parking garages, summarize the Aachen scientists.
The growing electronic commerce, the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, the necessity for greater sustainability, and the increasing competition between various uses for scarce space present ever-greater challenges for city centers, they outline the background of the study. Most city centers in high-income countries are heavily shaped by retail.
"To create space for other forms of mobility, outdoor dining, or greening, the reduction of street parking is a controversial measure, feared mainly by retailers," explain the Aachen researchers.
However, the influence of parking infrastructure and accessibility on the performance of retail in city centers has not yet been definitively studied in the literature. The present work aims to help close this research gap by analyzing the effects of on-street and off-street parking as well as accessibility on retail property rents in city centers. The database used consists of nearly 400 retail rental offers in downtown Aachen, published between 2015 and 2022. Since the data covers the period of the COVID-19 pandemic, the researchers also consider the impact of the pandemic on retail rents.
negatively influence," write the authors.
Traffic Calming Measures More Likely to Boost Retail Trade
Previous studies had already shown, as reported by Spiegel in its coverage of the study, that traffic calming measures either did not affect retail trade at all or even had a positive impact. The analysis included only offerings in the city center of Aachen. The city is considered a typical example of a historically grown city in Europe, with problems comparable to other cities of this size, according to the authors. The results are only seemingly contradictory: If there are many street parking spaces within a 100-meter radius of a shop, this negatively affects its rental value – while parking capacities within a larger radius of 100 to 500 meters have a positive effect. Essentially, this is plausible, the scientists find: Retail spaces are more valuable if the street in front of the store is not completely congested with cars, while there are still enough parking options within walking distance.
"Our findings show that street parking spaces in city centers could be significantly reduced to use the space in the street differently – if at the same time the existing capacity in parking garages is better utilized," advocates Laura Merten, traffic scientist and lead author of the study.
In earlier studies, merchants often overestimated the proportion of customers arriving by car, such as the example of Berlin shopping streets from 2021. The authors themselves refer to other studies, such as those from the USA, which are partly poorly comparable with European conditions or show no clear correlations.
Translated automatically from German."To our knowledge, no other study has shown that street parking spaces in the immediate vicinity of retail trade affect its real estate value
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