Fewer parking spaces have the potential to contribute to more sustainable mobility patterns and reduced climate impact from transport. To encourage property owners to adopt mobility measures and low parking ratios in new construction, the City of Gothenburg is working with mobility agreements. This means that property owners can build fewer parking spaces if they enter into an agreement with the municipality to offer residents other ways of traveling instead, such as access to carpools, public transport cards or cargo bikes. The climate-smart options should be in place when residents move in and remain in place for the next 10 years.
Since the first mobility agreements were signed in 2017, over 100 agreements have been signed between property owners and the City of Gothenburg. Preliminary results from a research study of the initiative indicate both lower car ownership and lower car use in apartment buildings with mobility agreements.
The model for mobility agreements was developed in collaboration between the urban development administrations and property owners that were part of the BoStad2021 initiative. The responsibility for handling, following up and developing the mobility agreements lies with the Development Administration in the City of Gothenburg, where David Backelin and Torunn Vikengren work as specialists in sustainable mobility.
- A key success factor has been the inclusion of mobility agreements in our governing documents and as part of the regular model for calculating parking rates. We have also continued to engage with property owners to get their views on how the agreements work and how they can be improved.
Work on mobility agreements started in 2017 as part of the BoStad2021 initiative. Since 2018, the agreements have been part of the regular process of developing parking figures. So far, more than 100 mobility agreements for apartment buildings have been signed, covering more than 16 000 apartments (2023). On average, the mobility agreements have reduced the number of parking spaces built by 25%.
Keeping parking rates low and offering mobility measures by the property owner leads to more sustainable travel for residents compared to similar projects without mobility agreements. Along with keeping construction costs down, the approach meets sustainability objectives in all dimensions, which is in line with local, regional and global policy objectives.
- What has happened in recent years, and to which the mobility agreements have greatly contributed, is that we are changing the view of parking in new construction. From fixed and fairly high requirements for the number of parking spaces to a more flexible approach and a realization that parking is often costly and produces climate emissions both during construction and throughout the life cycle," say David Backelin and Torunn Vikengren.
- We hope that the newly built projects offering these services can create a ripple effect and help encourage more people to use shared mobility in existing residential areas as well.
What happens next, what's next?
The city's parking policy is to be revised and parking rates are to be lowered in the central areas. A proposal for a new policy has been presented to the politicians and parts of the work are now out for consultation with the relevant organizations. The possibility of mobility agreements will be available in the future, but when parking rates are generally reduced, it remains to be seen how the willingness to sign mobility agreements is affected.
- Regardless, we will continue to work with property owners to create more sustainable parking and mobility solutions in our urban development projects.
Torunn Vikengren, Project Manager for Sustainable Mobility at the City of Gothenburg, torunn.vikengren@exploatering.goteborg.se
David Backelin, Project Manager for Sustainable Mobility at the City of Gothenburg, david.backelin@exploatering.goteborg.se
