Birmingham is moving to free up parking spaces to make the city more walkable

In an ongoing effort to make Birmingham a more walkable and bikeable place, the city council voted this week to eliminate parking minimums required for downtown businesses.

“Current parking standards have required an overabundance of parking spaces, and this has had detrimental effects on our city and its residents,” Mayor Randall Woodfin said in a recent news release. “Birmingham is now on its way to being more walkable, cycleable and accessible. This means a better city for all of us.”

According to the release, Birmingham is the first city in the south to make this change.

The decision was the latest step in the city’s Right-Sized Parking Initiative. The initiative was launched in September as a collaboration between Birmingham’s Planning, Engineering and Permitting (PEP) department, the Birmingham Department of Transportation (BDOT) and the public. It aims to improve walkability, rent prices, urban sprawl and environmental factors by reducing parking requirements.

“Significant portions of our population live day to day without safe access to an automobile, yet previous zoning requirements have prioritized allocating land for private car storage and growth in a suburban manner,” PEP director Katrina Thomas said this week . “With the adoption of this initiative, the city is poised to create more affordable housing, create a safer built environment for all its residents.”

The release added that the vote will not mean a complete elimination of new businesses creating downtown parking.

“This simply gives companies flexibility in their approach to supporting the needs of their customers,” it said. “And the American Disability Act requirements for parking will remain the same.”

How can this benefit residents and visitors?

Last year, Birmingham city center was ranked 41st out of 87 city centers for the percentage of land dedicated to parking in a study by the Parking Reform Network, as previously reported by The Birmingham News. It received an overall score of 55, which was determined by taking the difference between a city’s parking footprint and the average parking footprint for a metro area of ​​that size, according to the network.

A recent release from the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) said reducing the parking footprint can provide countless benefits to both people and the environment.

“(The Right Size Parking Initiative) has the potential to improve Birmingham’s air quality, reduce flooding and create more opportunities for small businesses,” it said. “Car parking currently takes up around 26% of available land in Birmingham city centre. Excess parking also creates heat islands, increases impervious surfaces that cause flooding after rain, and increases air pollution by encouraging motoring. Transportation accounts for the largest share (29%) of total US greenhouse gas emissions.”

This change could also improve the financial situation of people in the city centre, the statement said.

“Businesses often have no choice but to pass on the cost of building excess parking to consumers,” the document says. “In parts of Birmingham, up to 50% of residents do not own a car and are forced to subsidize the cost of building unnecessary car parks. Excess parking forces urban sprawl, creating fewer opportunities for business and public transport.”

Daniel Christiansen, interim president of the Urban Planners Coalition of Alabama, has been an outspoken supporter of the initiative since its inception. He said this week the coalition was optimistic about Birmingham’s future following the city’s decision.

“Abolishing parking minimums is a great step in the right direction for Birmingham,” he said. “Along with projects like Birmingham Xpress, the Red Rock Trail System, the redesign of 4th Ave North and more, it shows that Birmingham is a vibrant and adaptable city.

“We look forward to continuing to advocate for safe streets, housing affordability and greater transportation options with the many partners in the Birmingham community who have come together to make this possible,” he said.

But, he added, there’s still plenty to do downtown. Improvements to sidewalks, paths and bike lanes were just a few projects he suggested.

“This is not going to change Birmingham overnight or by itself,” he said. “It took decades to move Birmingham from a city built for pedestrians and trams to its current form, and it will take decades and significant effort to move to a new paradigm.”

The city said this week that PEP and BDOT will continue to work closely on the initiative to ensure its success.