Houston Chronicle
Are we building too much parking?
By Nancy Sarnoff
September 20, 2018
A striking 30 percent of parking spots go unused during peak workday times, a new parking study shows. Dallas-based Granite Properties conducted the study of 23 properties totaling 7 million square feet of space in its office building portfolio in Dallas, Houston, Atlanta, Denver and southern California. From January through May, property managers studied garage usage every day for two weeks. They chose weeks without holidays and the study ended before the start of summer vacation season. While the most common code requirement for parking at office buildings ranges from 3 to 3.5 spaces for every 1,000 square feet leased, the study found tenants only use 2.17 spaces per 1,000 square feet.