Tools to better utilize existing parking capacity and free up civic space.
Parkade is a powerful tool to help make much more efficient use of parking lots, whether residential or office. It also allows residents or workers to seamlessly rent their idle parking spaces to other residents or guests, by the hour, day, or month. It also makes it dramatically easier for residential building owners to “unbundle” the cost of parking from the rent, since Parkade efficiently deals with all of the administration and enforcement.
These uses mean that Parkade can reduce spillover into the community from existing (inefficiently used) lots. It will also allow new buildings to include 25-30% less parking, because of the efficiency of sharing spots and the reduction in demand based on unbundling.
How Parkade Works provides an interactive explainer of common parking problems and how Parkade fixes them.
These case studies show how Parkade unlocks the potential of existing parking capacity by making much more efficient use of parking lots.
The impact is clear: with Parkade, parking utilization increases, along with revenue for building management, and fewer parking spots are necessary due to the increase in efficient management.
San Jose Parkade evaluation coming soon: Stay tuned for evaluation results from the two buildings using Parkade in San Jose, Vespaio and Miro. In partnership with the Mineta Institute at San Jose State University, Transform is evaluating Parkade’s impact on parking efficiency in San Jose.
Provide homes at more affordable price points by reducing the provision of excess parking in new developments and by making it easier to “unbundle”, i.e., separate the cost of housing from the parking cost.
Reduce spillover parking from existing buildings, enabling better use of street space, including bicycle and transit lanes, parklets, and plazas.
Collect data on parking utilization to inform developers, the community, and businesses about parking demand at buildings with well-managed parking.
Parknav uses big data and AI to predict on-street parking availability. The Parknav portal, pictured below, allows planners and the community to have data-driven conversations about parking. Users can set a specific hour of any day of the week and see what the predicted parking availability would be for the area in the central map (which covers downtown and some nearby neighborhoods). They can also see parking lots and EV parking in that area. Users can click on a particular street for more details. Another map, in the upper right, shows parking restrictions, permit parking, and paid parking areas.
The Parknav Parking app helps users navigate to the nearest open parking spot at their destination.
Parknav has helped cities around the world make data-informed decisions to enhance streetscapes and make parking more efficient.
Transform used Parknav as part of the Five Wounds Urban Village Plan Update to facilitate better transportation along Santa Clara St. in the area. A reduction in street parking might be necessary for faster bus speeds and pedestrian safety, and Transform supported a strong community voice in the planning process by gathering 350 surveys in Spanish. In preparation for this outreach, Transform used Parknav’s portal to understand when parking was most difficult and where.
Our analysis of Parknav data showed that parking was easiest from about 8 am to 4 pm and gets very tight by 8 pm. This analysis helped clarify that for much of the day, a modest reduction in parking, especially if paired with better access by bus, can be efficient, but for those businesses open late, there should be a clear parking management plan. We need to ensure efficient use of parking that allows merchants to thrive even as we gain more space for faster transit and pedestrian safety. Find full details on the Five Wounds Urban Village plan here.
Create constructive, data-based, solution-focused conversations with communities that are creating specific plans or commenting on proposed projects.
Make more efficient use of existing parking (on- and off-street) through better management and information.
By helping people understand problems and solutions as well as manage parking better, make parking easy while allowing more spaces to be used for dining, events, and bike and transit lanes.
Connect helps you instantly calculate how smart location, affordable homes and traffic reduction strategies can reduce driving and greenhouse gas emissions from residential development. It also calculates how much money and space can be saved from right-sized parking.
We designed this tool for you: the community members, city officials, and developers who shape and build our communities.
Community members who want to see smarter development and less traffic now have powerful data and modeling at their fingertips. With Connect you can advocate for more traffic reduction strategies and greater affordability, using free data and reports that are easy to share and print. It also can be used to compare a particular proposal with the county average, providing data to help you support smart, well-located developments.
Connect can be recommended to developers or fully incorporated into the development review process, especially since it is a free-to-use tool with tremendous potential benefits. You can also use Connect to engage residents and inform future planning at a larger neighborhood or community scale. Since 2009 cities have started to update zoning and specific plans in ways that support GreenTRIP strategies. We’re looking for more cities to join these innovative GreenTRIP Cities.
Residential developers of affordable and market-rate housing use Connect to determine how much driving and GHGs can be reduced by the project location and design. Connect also shows the benefits of providing only as much parking as needed. You can also use it to help evaluate potential sites for development.
Stay tuned for a toolkit of resources for business owners in San Jose to help inform your customers around transportation choices and parking availability, as well as how to engage in San Jose city planning processes to make more creative use of parking spaces, for example, through the use of parklets.
Coming soon, in partnership with San Jose Downtown Association.
https://transformca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/LaAvenida-at-Mexican-heritage-plaza-scaled.webp
1280
1920
Julia Gerasimenko
https://transformca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Company-Logo.png
Julia Gerasimenko2025-10-14 17:11:312025-10-15 15:14:21What Equitable Community Engagement Looks Like at Mexican Heritage Plaza
https://transformca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/john-matychuk-yvfp5YHWGsc-unsplash-scaled-e1720486321232.jpg
1280
1920
Julia Gerasimenko
https://transformca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Company-Logo.png
Julia Gerasimenko2025-07-29 10:29:442025-10-28 14:53:41Myths About Parking Are Holding San José Back: Here’s What We Can Do About It
https://transformca.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/alyson-west-olderwomanflowersprotectedbikelaneAdamCoppolaPFB.jpg
465
775
Julia Gerasimenko
https://transformca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Company-Logo.png
Julia Gerasimenko2025-06-05 17:23:362025-06-05 17:23:37Bike Lanes are Good for Business, Actually