/ 14 MOBILITY &TECH

PARKING &MOBILITY /SEPTEMBER 2019 /PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG tomobile thenumberofvehicle milestraveled (VMT)grew steadily. I I per capitadropped below 10,000 milesperperson for slowly decreased. The average annualmilesdriven right. From 2007 to 2012, the annualVMTintheU.S. for thelast 100years. Andfor sometime, they were disruption, andpollutiontheautomobile hasborne tual reduction inmilestraveled, auto reliance, land theory was calledPeak —the plateauing andeven- the catalyst that would reverse thedrivingtrend. This disruption to ourfinancial well-being seemed to be priceGas increases, pay stagnation, andmassive tion industry, that disruptionwas theGreat Recession. ended orreversed thissteady climbindriving. tainly would seesomedisruptioninourlifetime that that whilethistrend was interesting, we almost cer continued to drive more andmore. Myprofessor said auto industry always recovered andtheaverage user ages inthe1970s andrecessions inthe1980s,but Yes, there were smalldeclinesduringthegasshort For many ofthethought leaders inthetransporta- The discussion specifically focused onhow for theentirety of themodernlife oftheau- one class inwhichmy graduate research professor spoke abouttransportation trends. tion planning,whichwould eventually fall headlonginto parkingplanning.Iremember WAS INGRAD SCHOOL AT THETURNOFCENTURY, By Brett Wood, CAPP, PE Peak Car? - - ing course. that Peak Car hadoccurred, andpeoplewere chang- the first timesince theturnof century. Itseemed ■ ■ actual answer: patterns? Afew thoughts might provide context to the ing ourways orare we reverting to ourhistorical were perplexing. less car-dependent lifestyle. The diverging courses sionals started to live inurban areas that supporta almost 50percent), andagreater numberofprofes- 16-year-olds getting driver’s licenses hasdropped a driver’s license (since themid1980s,rate of als beganto delay ordeclinethedecisionto get at atimewhenteenagers andyoung profession- levels andare steadily climbing.Allofthiscame escalate, whileauto salesreturned to pre-recession Then, in2012 something shifted. VMTstarted to Changing OurWays? ■ ■ The U.S. population continues to increase. Even Coming outofthe , therate of support anon-automotive lifestyle. in rural areas that may nothave theinfrastructure to of growth withmigration continue to pushincreases tion ismoving toward urbancenters, the net effects we are still growing. Andwhilemost ofourpopula- though thepace ofourgrowth isat anall-timelow, only form oftransportation. they might own anautomobile, even ifitisnottheir families, itbecomes more reasonable to accept that as theirfinancialsituation improves andthey start for college graduates entering theworkforce. But low. This makes sensegiven thefinancialsituation owning anautomobile was relatively This begsanot-so-simple question—are we chang- learningmy trade intransporta-

ISTOCK / STEPHANHOEROLD The time is now for the parking and mobility industry to take the reins and begin to shape the future of our industry and the world around it.

■■ The popularity of transportation network companies (TNCs) manage and shape these practices to support a more efficient and the ride-share model has created a new wave of and multifaceted future. The time is now for the parking and ­single-occupant vehicles that are moving between paying mobility industry to take the reins and begin to shape the fu- trips, creating more and more miles traveled. ture of our industry and the world around it. ◆ The combination of these three elements paints a clearer picture of the change we are seeing. While annual VMT has BRETT WOOD, CAPP, PE, is a parking planner with seen a sharp increase in recent years, that per capita VMT Kimley-Horn and co-chair of IPMI's Research value is increasing at a much slower rate. More people are Committee. He can be reached at brett.wood@ on the road for professional-driving related trips, but fewer kimley-horn.com. miles are traveled per person because we have more options to rely on.

Getting to Peak Car Therein lies the opportunity to truly reach a level of Peak Car defined by those thought leaders (and my professor). Given the proliferation of mobility options in the industry today, we have a distinct opportunity to shape a future that experiences Peak Car. A few examples: ■■ Better driving and parking policies to motivate behavioral change such as , demand-based parking pricing, fringe park-and-ride to reduce vehicular access into urban centers, and better information to find parking to reduce miles related to cruising. ■■ Providing better options for daily decision-making can help people in urban and urban fringe areas to intelligently choose the cheapest, fastest, and most sustainable option for commuting every day. Data sharing, navigation engines, and user-choice applications can stimulate a much smarter transportation system. ■■ Better integration of connected vehicles and transportation systems and the upcoming proliferation of autonomous vehicles can help reduce redundant trips and support more efficient use of TNCs. ■■ Implementing micro-mobility options that help connect first- and last-mile options and make transit trips a more reasonable and feasible solution for travelers. As professionals in this industry, we have the ability to

PARKING-MOBILITY.ORG / SEPTEMBER 2019 / PARKING & MOBILITY 15