Shared Automated Vehicle Toolkit: Policies and Planning Considerations for Implementation (2022)

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30 MOD and vehicle automation could impact land uses, such as auto­oriented businesses. This chapter discusses potential land­use changes to support these emerging modes, such as altering parking requirements and making parking more flexible. Tools for Land Use Tools included in this chapter: • Potential impacts of AVs on land use. • Possible land­use changes to support AVs. • Changes to parking to make it more adaptable. Land­use patterns both impact and are impacted by mobility choices. Urban planning strategies that prioritize mixed­use and compact development by placing residential and commercial areas near each other can reduce the reli­ ance on private motor vehicles and encourage a combination of active trans­ portation and higher­occupancy modes. In an automated future, land uses oriented toward privately owned, human­driven vehicles may need to be adapted to accom­ modate AVs. Considering the impacts of privately owned AVs and SAVs on the built environ­ ment, land use can be an important consideration because vehicle automation could disrupt auto­oriented businesses, such as motels, fast food establishments, vehicle repair facilities, deal­ erships, and other businesses dependent on human­driven, privately owned vehicles. Land use is an important consideration in AV deployment because if proactive land­use and economic development policies are not taken, some neighborhoods could suffer from economic blight during the transition to vehicle automation. Some potential land­use impacts could include: • Auto-Oriented Businesses: Auto­oriented land uses (e.g., motels, restaurants) could become obsolete or need to be adapted due to a combination of technological changes and shifts in consumer preferences (e.g., passengers resting or eating in their AVs, passengers sleeping in their vehicles on long trips instead of stopping at a motel) (Memon 2017). • Centralized Shopping: Online retail may become even more popular as ADVs will allow for easier access to goods. This could lead to fewer community brick­and­mortar stores, includ­ ing retailers and groceries. • Parking Requirements: Reductions in minimum parking requirements may encourage higher­density and infill development (developing unused or underused land within existing urban areas), particularly when coupled with the availability of SAV fleets and the reduced need for on­site parking for personal vehicles. However, if zoning and design guidelines do not consider the transition to AVs, developers and property managers may overbuild parking C H A P T E R 4 Land Use

Land Use 31   and/or build parking that cannot be easily adapted to other uses (Ezike 2018). Additionally, decisions to transition parking to accommodate AVs will have to be carefully considered as many jurisdictions depend upon the revenue generated by parking payments. • Travel Centers and Rest Stops: Rather than serving as locations for drivers to refuel their vehicles or take a rest, travel centers could be repurposed for vehicle charging, mobility hubs, or locations that allow drivers to safely switch between automated and human­driven functions. • Vehicle Maintenance Centers: Consumer vehicle repair centers may need to be adapted for different types of maintenance (e.g., software, sensors, and electric components), different fre­ quencies of maintenance, and fleet services for SAV operators. • Vehicle Storage: Facilities to store AVs when they are not in use will likely need to be devel­ oped. These areas may be developed as a home base that can be distanced from higher­demand areas for overnight and/or longer­term storage, or they may be designed as temporary spots neighboring high­demand areas for vehicles to wait between uses. Because AVs are being developed as primarily EVs, these storage facilities, whether for short­ or long­term storage, may also need to have electric charging infrastructure for AVs. The “Land Use and Rights­of­Way” section in Appendix B: “Sample Policies” includes an example of a policy to address land­use impacts and challenges. Access to higher­paying jobs is a central component of economic and transportation mobility. However, land­use barriers, such as retail and service jobs that have located to more affluent areas create a spatial mismatch between affordable housing and many jobs for low­income households. This spatial mismatch tends to be greater in regions with segregated land uses and fewer transportation options connecting housing and employment centers. AVs may be able to help address the spatial mismatch challenge in a few ways. First, SAVs could provide lower­ cost transportation options that bridge gaps in the transportation network and expand access to employment centers. Additionally, a reduction in parking could enable the repurposing of parking for more productive land uses, such as affordable housing. In addition to possible impacts from AVs, some communities are adapting land use for active transportation modes and improved public transit access. A variety of terms exist for these policy strategies, such as “complete streets” and “slow streets.” These policies aim to adapt public spaces to enable safe access for all users, including pedestrians, bicyclists, motorists, and transit riders of all ages and abilities. Generally, these policies will be customized for local context and may contain various policy elements such as health, safety, equity, aesthetics, economic devel­ opment, environmental protection, and quality of life (City of New Haven 2010). For example, in January 2020, as part of the San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency’s (SFMTA) “Better Market Street” plan, the agency closed off a 2.2­mile zone of Market Street to private vehicles. Market Street is one of the city’s main thoroughfares, and one of the goals of the project is to increase pedestrian and bicyclist safety while enhancing the transit corridor. According to SFMTA, before the closure of Market Street, 200 to 400 vehicles, 200 buses, and 650 bicyclists used Market Street during peak times (SFMTA 2020). In addition, 500,000 pedestrians and 75,000 transit riders walked and rode on Market Street daily (SFMTA 2020). Between 2014 and 2020, the now­closed zone of Market Street experienced an average of more than 100 injury collisions per year, with approximately 75% of these collisions involving pedestrians or bicyclists. These statistics supported SFMTA’s “Better Market Street” plan. As other communities review their current land uses and repurpose them for new functions, such as an enhanced pedestrian and bicyclist zone, the role of AVs will need to be considered and factored into these redevelopment and development plans.

32 Shared Automated Vehicle Toolkit: Policies and Planning Considerations for Implementation Parking Requirements in Seattle Seattle’s municipal code allows developers to reduce a development project’s required total parking if the development provides parking for a city-recognized carsharing program. The ordinance reduces the number of required spaces by one space for every parking space leased by a carsharing program. For developments requiring 20 or more parking spaces, the number of required spaces may be reduced by the lesser of (1) three required parking spaces for each carsharing space or (2) 15% of the total number of required spaces. Similar programs could be enacted to reduce or eliminate parking minimums if shared AVs become mainstream in the future. Source: Seattle Municipal Code § 23.54.020. Land-Use Changes During COVID-19 Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shelter-in-place orders, many communities throughout the world have altered their existing land uses to support “slow streets” (sometimes referred to as “safe streets” or “healthy streets”). These streets are predominantly used by active transportation modes (e.g., pedestrians, bicyclists) and restaurants and retailers who moved their businesses outdoors to comply with social distancing protocols (Caballero and Rapin 2020). For example, Denver, Colorado, closed 5.5 miles over eight roads to repurpose them for active modes. Officials in Oakland, California, are working on closing and repurposing a total of 74 miles of streets (Chrobak 2020). Many of these land-use changes have been accomplished through lost-cost, low-tech measures including traffic cones and A-frame signs delineating new land uses. In many communities, businesses can apply for applications to temporarily alter their zoning requirements and restrictions to allow for outdoor dining and retail. In the United States, these changes are anticipated to remain in place until the containment of COVID-19. However, some international cities—such as Paris, France, that is using $66 million to modify 400 miles of streets to become bicycle friendly—are looking at making such changes permanent (Caballero and Rapin 2020). Figure 7 illustrates curbspace changes in response to COVID-19. If these changes become mainstream or similar policies are implemented in the future, MOD and AVs will need to adapt to changes in curbspace access. For instance, AVs would need to identify new land-use complexities (e.g., outdoor dining) and safely navigate them. SOURCE: Downtown Brooklyn Partnership 2020 Figure 7. Curbspace changes in response to COVID-19.

Land Use 33   Land-Use Considerations: Planning for the Transition to AVs Through Adaptive Parking To prepare for the impact of AVs on real estate, it is key to design adaptable parking infrastructures that can be repurposed, renovated, or redeveloped. While communities may not be immediately ready to remove parking for AVs, the ability to repurpose, renovate, and redevelop in the future starts with thoughtful planning today. The ability to adapt parking in the future is critical for two reasons: 1. Extending the economic lifespan of a property or a development project and 2. Reducing the potential for future grayfield sites (land that is economically outdated and obsolete or underused real estate assets); making such sites easier to improve, revitalize, and redevelop with minor modifications and capital expenditures. Architects, engineers, and developers should design for adaptable parking today, and cities should require it as part of local building codes. The following subsections provide some tips that can be incorporated into parking and facility design to help ensure flexibility in transitioning to a shared, electric, connected, and automated (SECA) vehicle future. Residential Garages A number of strategies exist to help make residential garages more adaptable to renovation. Designing for future utility requirements, such as heating, ventilation, and cooling, as well as fire exits is key. Additionally, local governments can consider potential zoning and building code amendments to accommodate the renovation of garages into single housing units (with a separate kitchen, laundry, and full bathroom). Allowing for these types of conversions could increase the overall housing supply, enhance affordability (both by increasing supply and creating a rental unit), and increase suburban residential density. Structured Parking A number of strategies exist to make structured parking more adaptable to repurposing, renovating, and redeveloping. Developers and facility managers in need of more parking for a limited period of time could consider modular parking systems designed to be moved, reconfigured, or deconstructed for other uses. One company, MORE PARK (http://morepark.com/), offers a modular structure that installs over existing surface parking in just a few weeks. This could provide an option for sites needing more parking today without the permanence of a traditional parking structure and having the flexibility to quickly convert a parcel for future development. In addition to interim modular parking facilities, developers and facility managers constructing new structured parking today can consider: • Designing parking structures for future conversion that allow for minimal modification without impacting key structural elements, such as columns, beams, and floor plates; • Designing parking structures to consider future physical space requirements, such as floor-to-floor heights, column spacing, and utility requirements including heating, ventilation, and cooling. In particular, column spacing and floor-to-floor heights are critical. Architects and engineers can consider increasing floor to ceiling heights on the ground floor to match nearby storefronts and allowing for ground-level uses requiring greater vertical clearances, such as lobbies; and • Designing and constructing level floors and considering potential design amenities, such as the availability and location of utility hook up. (continued on next page)

34 Shared Automated Vehicle Toolkit: Policies and Planning Considerations for Implementation Key Takeaways • MOD and AVs may have an impact of requiring land use to become less auto­oriented and more flexible, such as repurposing rest stops for vehicle charging and multimodal trip inte­ gration. Examples of changes to land uses can be witnessed in the closure of San Francisco’s Market Street to private vehicles and COVID­19 zoning adaptations. • Designing flexible parking may help mitigate the potential adverse land­use impacts of tran­ sitioning from human­driven to AVs by making these land uses more adaptable. Land-Use Considerations: Planning for the Transition to AVs Through Adaptive Parking (Continued) Flexible Parking Takeaways Parking today can be viewed as open buildings in prime locations for low cost, transformative development in the future. Both residential garages and structured parking may be designed with flexibility in mind to accommodate transitions to “live-work” land uses. To plan for the transition to AVs, cities and county governments can develop building and zoning codes that not only accommodate adaptable parking but also encourage it by design. This can include amending building codes to require infrastructure that makes it possible to transform garages into inhabitable buildings. As AVs begin to enter the marketplace, communities may consider incentives and other programs to begin the conversion of ground-level parking to commercial uses. Local, regional, and state governments can encourage the long-term transition of parking to help minimize future grayfield blight by offering grants, financing, and other incentives to encourage transitioning parking to new uses as AVs become more mainstream. Together, transportation, real estate professionals, and policymakers can identify potential alternative uses that could occupy existing parking, if repurposed or renovated. They may also consider collaborating to develop a legal framework that is conducive to adapting and converting existing parking for other uses. Appendix A-5: “Sample Policy Agreement for Parking” provides a sample policy agreement to alter current parking policies. Adapted and reprinted from Shaheen and Cohen 2018a.