GIS-based method for assessing city parking patterns

Every car trip ends with a parking search and parking. However, current transportation research still lacks practical tools and methodologies to analyze parking needs and dynamics, which cannot be adequately performed at an aggregate level. This paper presents PARKFIT, a novel algorithm for estimating city parking patterns that is based on a spatially explicit high-resolution view of the inherently heterogeneous urban parking demand and supply. Using high-resolution data obtainable from most municipal GIS, we apply PARKFIT to evaluate the fit between overnight parking demand and parking capacity in the city of Bat Yam, both currently and within the framework of the Bat Yam 2030 transportation master plan. We then analyze PARKFIT's capabilities and limitations, and supply PARKFIT as a free ArcGIS-based software. (C) 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.