TRAFFIC AND PARKING ISSUES
By Bruce Todd
Traffic and Parking issues, treated as an FAQ:
How far are people willing to walk to various public venues?
The following is a handy piece of information taken from the Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Encyclopedia developed in British Columbia. You can Google "acceptable walking distance", and then click on "Online TDM Encyclopedia - Shared Parking" to go directly to the chapter in which the walking distance table is located. It is extracted here for convenience.
The following indicates maximum acceptable walking distance from parking to destinations for various activities and users. It assumes good pedestrian conditions (sidewalks, crosswalks, level terrain) that are outdoors and uncovered, with a mild climate.
Adjacent distance - less than 100 feet or 30 metres -
- for people with disabilities, deliveries and loading, emergency services, and convenience stores.
Short distance - less than 800 feet or 250 metres -
- for grocery stores, professional services, medical clinics, and residents.
Medium distance - less than 1200 feet or 370 metres -
- for general retail, restaurants, employees, entertainment centres, and religious institutions.
Long distance - less than 1600 feet or 500 metres -
- for airport parking, major sport or cultural event, and overflow parking.
Please note that Kingston's city blocks average about 100 metres long, so that the maximum acceptable walking distance to a small-town entertainment venue would be a medium distance of about four blocks.
Please note also that these maximum acceptable walking distances are quoted for level terrain and mild climate conditions.
Links to parking maps: Images will open in new windows, which may later be closed to return here.
Parking map, 35% (82KB, 764 X 590 pixels)
Parking map, 70% (255KB, 1529 X 1180 pixels)
Parking map, full size (464KB, 2184 X 1626 pixels)