Parking for the People

Why We Invested

When designed for people, parking becomes a tool for access, safety, and vibrant places—not just a place to leave a car.

Access to parking is a hot topic being debated across Hawaiʻi, with policymakers and communities weighing how parking policies affect transportation, housing, land use, and quality of life.

To support these discussions and community members interested in advancing parking policy reform to better serve those communities, Ulupono Initiative has introduced an online toolkit titled “Parking for the People.” This toolkit builds on studies and policy work conducted in Hawaiʻi over the past decade and serves as a vital resource for community members, planners, and policymakers.

Managing street parking more effectively to ensure 10-20% of spaces available during peak hours can help kamaʻāina find reliable parking, even in high-demand situations. Parking management policies can even be structured to give local residents special pricing or priority access.

Key concepts of the toolkit include:

Impacting ‘Āina: Prioritizing land for parking means less land for housing, jobs, food and more.  Hawai‘i has an estimated 4.5 million total parking spaces statewide. That’s 17% of the state’s total urban land.  

Increasing Cost of Living: The addition of parking spaces is one of the more expensive components of building new homes or businesses. Construction costs range from $4,200 per space in a surface lot to $60,400 per space in a free-standing parking garage. Construction and ongoing carrying costs are passed on to Hawai‘i residents. 

Limiting Parking Availability: When parking is free or too cheap, people are encouraged to use more of it and demand increases, leaving most (if not all) spaces constantly full. 

Case Studies: These offer examples and insights from successful parking management projects in cities like San Francisco and Portland. Information on restricted parking zones in Honolulu and other local examples are also available.

Link to the ‘Parking for the People’ online toolkit

Read news release: New ‘Parking for the People’ resource supports smarter parking policy