Parking Reform Atlas
Seoul parking maximums in parking restriction zones
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Brief summary of this reform
Seoul imposes maximums in 10 areas of the city (7 areas before 2009). The parking maximums for each land-use in these parking restriction areas are set at 50% of the parking minimums that apply in general areas of the city. These parking restriction areas are the areas with 'first grade' on-street and public parking fees, with strong public transport access, and are in and around major business districts.
Why should you care?
This is a rare Asian example of the use of parking maximums.
Imposing parking maximums in congestion-prone but transit-oriented business districts is a time-tested and effective policy in many countries and Seoul's case is an ambitious and interesting version of this powerful policy.
I would like to know more about any analysis of its impacts.
Country
South Korea
Vehicle type
cars
State/province
Seoul
Key actor type
Metropolitan government
Jurisdiction
City of Seoul
Primary motivation
mode shift or TDM
Agencies involved
Seoul Metropolitan Government
Is it a model or a warning?
useful model
Reform type
Main parking category
Main parking paradigm shift
maximums or caps (including minimums switched to maximums)
Off-street various
Away from excessive parking supply
Adaptive Parking thrust
Implementation status
Year adopted
D: Discourage or limit parking supply in certain contexts
implemented
1997
Goals of the reform
Reduce traffic demand on congested roads to and from the busiest areas with high public transport access.
Impetus (what problem, campaign, opportunity or event prompted action?)
This policy was part of a wide-ranging set of TDM policies adopted in Seoul in the mid to late 1990s as a response to a growing traffic congestion crisis that emerged in that decade as car ownership rose steeply after 1985.
Detailed description of the reform
Seoul imposes maximums in 10 areas of the city (7 areas before 2009).
The parking maximums for each land-use in these parking restriction areas are set at 50% of the parking minimums that apply in general areas of the city.
These parking restriction areas are the areas with 'first grade' on-street and public parking fees, with strong public transport access, and are in and around major business districts.
Seoul's on-street parking management has some problems, with on-street parking chaos common in many areas. But appropriately these parking restriction areas are the areas of Seoul with the most intensive parking management and the highest on-street prices.
Results or impacts
More details coming soon I hope.
Sources and acknowledgements
Barter, P.A. (2011) Parking Policy in Asian Cities. Asian Development Bank (ADB), Manila.
Presentation by Sang Bum Kim (Assistant Mayor for City Transportation), “Policy Directions of Seoul for a Clean and Green City” to CUD Global Conference Seoul 2009
Park Ji-hoon, Lee Taeheon and Lee Shin-hae (2016) A Study on the Improvement of Maximum Parking Allowances in Seoul With the Review of Foreign Cases, Transportation Technology and Policy Vol.13 No.2, April 2016
Last updated:
5 Mar 2021