Taichung City Mayor Lu Hsiu-yen places an emphasis on the parking demands of citizens. Up until the end of last year, around NT$10 billion has been invested in building 33 parking facilities to offer convenient parking options. Moreover, data on roadside parking spaces has been collected. From January 2019 to December 2023, 5,734 parking spots for small vehicles were added, ranking the highest increase among the six municipalities in Taiwan. The city government also encourages individuals to develop parking areas on private lands. To enhance the willingness to establish such spaces, the Taichung City Government's Transportation Bureau has introduced the Regulations for the Subsidization of Civil Temporary Off-Street Parking Facilities in Taichung City, integrating private parking capacities to cater to the parking demands of citizens and further stimulate local economic growth.
Director Yeh Chao-fu of the Transportation Bureau noted that Taichung City leads the country in the number of registered small passenger vehicles. Addressing the ongoing challenge of insufficient parking capacity, the city government has invested approximately NT$10 billion by the end of last year to build 33 new parking facilities. Among these, the Tanxing Multistory Parking Lot in Tanzi District and the Wenshan Multistory Parking Lot in Nantun District were completed and operationalized last year, offering a combined total of 449 car parking spaces and 111 scooter parking spaces. Anticipated for opening this year are the Gonger 30 Underground Parking Lot in East District, Yimin Elementary School Underground Parking Lot in Dali District, and the Jiushe Multistory Parking Lot. Once operationalized, they will provide 607 car parking spaces and 424 scooter parking spaces, meeting the local demand for parking.
Director Yeh pointed out that building multifunctional ground and multistory parking lots helps alleviate parking demands. The ongoing construction of the Xingzhong Multistory Parking Lot and the Greater Taichung Transportation Center is progressing steadily. Once finished, these projects will provide an additional 1,630 car parking spaces and 3,212 scooter parking spaces, greatly increasing parking capacity.
According to the most recent parking data from the Ministry of Transportation, Taichung City has a total of 153,000 small vehicle parking spaces both curb-side and off-street, placing it fourth among the six municipalities. However, when focusing solely on curb-side parking spaces, Taichung City has added 5,734 spaces from January 2019 to December 2023, making it the leader among the six municipalities in this regard. This indicates the effective efforts of the Transportation Bureau in advancing parking policies and enhancing urban parking convenience.
Director Yeh also noted that alongside increasing curbside parking spaces, the Transportation Bureau is actively working on parking lot development by leasing idle land from entities such as the National Property Administration, Ministry of National Defense, and Taiwan Railways Administration. The bureau is also encouraging individuals to establish parking lots on private lands. To enhance the willingness, the bureau has introduced the Regulations for the Subsidization of Civil Temporary Off-Street Parking Facilities in Taichung City, where private entities can receive NT$3,000 for each additional small car parking space created. This initiative aims to foster community involvement in expanding parking availability.
To optimize the use of parking spaces, the Transportation Bureau is implementing a scheme where cars and scooters share parking spaces. They are targeting areas where there are noticeable differences in parking times between cars and scooters, such as residential and commercial zones. Depending on the demand, spaces designated for scooters may be utilized for car parking at night when demand is low, and vice versa during the day when scooter parking demand is higher. Currently, Taichung City has one location where large and small cars share parking spaces, and 12 locations where small cars and scooters share parking spaces.
The Transportation Bureau urges government agencies and educational institutions to assess their current parking spaces and utilize them effectively during times when they are not needed for school affairs, such as after school, nights, and weekends. Four universities in Taichung City - Feng Chia University, National Taiwan Sport University, China Medical University, and Tunghai University - have opened up their campus areas for shared parking. This initiative provides a total of 666 car parking spaces and 1,167 scooter parking spaces, maximizing the use of limited resources. Embracing the idea of sharing, they aim to mutually support each other, improve parking space utilization, and enhance convenience for the public.
The Transportation Bureau encourages people to download the “Taichung Traffic” app, which is designed to assist users in finding available parking spaces around shopping areas and tourist attractions. It presents a clear list of parking options and offers voice navigation services that connect to Google Maps, helping users quickly locate nearby parking facilities and street parking spaces for convenient and efficient parking.