New rules for Chicago skyscrapers to combat cars

[editor]

Chicago has a lot of rules governing new skyscrapers.  And contrary to the hyperbolic claims of real estate developers — they keep getting built.  Funny, that.

The city's Department of Transportation has added some new rules (Traffic Demand Management) for new developments that are near train stations.  Some of them are kind of interesting.  I've only briefly scanned the rules, but these are parts that caught my eye:

• The goal is not just to reduce car ownership, and the use of personal cars, but to also reduce the reliance of ride-hailing like Uber and Lyft
• Rules restricting free parking.  This was already a thing for office towers, but will not apply some other buildings, including retail. 
• In some cases, employees may be able to "cash out" the value of their office parking space.  Meaning, they can get money on their paychecks if they don't use a car to come to work.
• Prohibiting apartment and condo buildings from including parking in the rent, which was pretty common already.  I used to pay $380/month for a parking space at Aqua.  But condo buildings more commonly included a parking space.
• Companies may be required to subsidize the cost of transit passes.  A bunch of companies already do this in Chicago (mine did, and still does), so I'm not sure why this is necessary, unless it's fallen out of favor, or they're making it mandatory.  Which is part of the next point:
• Mandatory marketing of transit alternatives.  The buildings and companies almost never tell their employees about transit subsidies and other programs.  They will now be required to encourage people to use the programs.
• On-site day-care for employees, which I remember being a big thing in the 1970's in New York, and even Enron did it here in Houston, but I guess it's not as widespread as it should be.
• On-site car sharing services.  Chicago already has ZipCar and Avail, but maybe it's not as widespread as it used to be the last time I lived there.
• "Micromobility" strategies, like subsidizing gym memberships near the office, so people don't have to drive to go to the gym after work and then drive home.
• "Micro-transit" — meaning the office building organizes van pools.  Some of the big skyscrapers already do this (Michigan Plaza, Prudential Plaza), but those are with massive buses because they're massive buildings.  This will encourage smaller office buildings to do it with vans and cars, and to build designated pick-up and drop-off locations.
• Mandatory bicycle amenities (bike kitchens, public tool kits, showers, etc)
• Building must be constructed with parking levels that can be converted to other uses.  Some Chicago skyscrapers have been converting their parking garages to office and residential space for the last ten years or so (900 North Michigan Avenue, Water Tower Place) as people realize that cars aren't worth the hassle in a big city.  Now, parking areas will have to be designed with this in mind.

As someone who has lived in Chicago on-and-off over the last 20 years, it's been my observation that CDOT has become very forward-thinking.  It understood decades ago that it is a transportation department, and not a cars and asphalt department, even though transit is handled by other entities.   It was converting street parking spaces into parklets and outdoor dining spaces for everyone to enjoy years before COVID made it fashionable in other places, realizing that public space is not the best place to store private property. 

Few of these policies would work in Houston (though, if I wasn't WFH, my company would cover my Q Card).  But it's interesting to see the direction other cities are going, especially as Houston starts to become more dense and downtown becomes more mixed-use.

[Houston19514]

Sounds interesting.  Can you provide a link?

Also, I'd love to learn more about the conversions of parking to other uses, but have come up empty in my web searches.  Could you provide any additional information  please, or links?

Re:  900 N Michigan, I found that they converted 8 floors of office to additional residential, but can't find anything about converting parking to other uses.

Edited June 21, 2023 by Houston19514