Earlier this spring, RPA testified in favor of S3605 at the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee. The bill, and its Assembly counterpart A4984, would reduce statewide parking requirements around transit nodes, including bus stops, ferry terminals, and train and light rail stations. Depending on the proximity to the transit node, parking minimums would be reduced by 20%, 30%, or 50%. Reducing parking requirements around transit nodes aligns with facilitating transit-oriented development, increasing opportunities for affordable homes and neighborhoods near transit.
In order to better understand where these parking minimum reductions would occur and how it could change the landscape of New Jersey, RPA created a visualization of the bill’s potential impact. The map below shows exactly where parking reductions would occur around train and light rail stations throughout the state.
If passed, S3605 would overwrite parking minimum requirements established in the Residential Site Improvement Standards (RSIS) for areas around transit. In New Jersey, the RSIS establishes statewide requirements for improvements made in connection with residential development, including streets and parking, water supply, sanitary sewers and stormwater management. Parking minimums established by RSIS are dependent on the type of housing unit and amount of bedrooms but they are uniform across the state, regardless of whether a development is located in a dense urban community with transit access or a sparsely populated area with none.
This one-size fits all approach is holding New Jersey back.
First, it affects housing supply. Developers must consider the cost of fulfilling minimum parking requirements when proposing new developments. Nationally, the median cost to construct a parking spot in a parking structure is $27,900, or $83.21 per square foot. That construction outlay is then incorporated into the purchase or rental price of the associated units, increasing the overall cost of housing. Parking should not be a burden that everyone, especially those who choose not to have or can’t afford to have a car, has to bear.
Secondly, high parking minimum requirements have environmental consequences. Parking increases flooding from stormwater runoff and exacerbates heat island effects. A glut of parking — especially around transit stations — also influences how people choose to travel, encouraging people to drive and increasing emissions of pollutants.
Finally, the large surface parking lots necessitated by state minimums greatly diminish the enjoyment of public space. Buildings become isolated in order to fulfill parking minimum requirements which in turn make it difficult to get from one destination to another, even between adjacent properties. Parking also invites traffic, which increases the dangers of navigating streets on bike or by foot. Lastly, space reserved for parking is also space not reserved for cyclists and pedestrians, parks and green streetscapes, or other amenities.
By targeting reductions in areas where people can take advantage of public transportation instead of depending on a car, S3605/A4984 brings a much-needed, context-sensitive approach to our statewide parking minimums. If passed, this legislation would be a great step forward for New Jersey in the growing movement to make sure development around transit helps support the system by encouraging active ridership and safer downtowns.
RPA is excited to see measures like this moving through the state legislature. S3605 was passed by the full Senate in May of this year and we hope to see its Assembly counterpart advance in late fall when the legislature reconvenes. Many thanks to Senators Sarlo and Singleton, as well as Assemblyman Calabrese and Majority Leader Greenwald for their leadership in making New Jersey a better place to live, work, and ride.
