Parking is an essential component of the transportation system and significantly influences the quality of everyday life. Parking decisions and policies affect the cost of goods and services, housing affordability, transportation choices, stormwater management, and air quality.

Region 1 Planning Council recognizes the widespread impacts of parking decisions and is currently developing a plan to reimagine parking throughout the Rockford Region. The goals of this plan are to:

1. Identify current and future trends affecting parking and mobility,
2. Develop strategies for more effective utilization of parking resources,
3. Promote sustainable and equitable approaches to parking and mobility,
4. Enhance transportation mode choice, and
5. Improve the safety and efficiency of the transportation system.

At the end of this planning process, the Rockford Region will have a Parking Reimagined Plan that demonstrates how parking in the Rockford Region can be transformed over the next 5-10 years. The plan aims to balance parking needs with community priorities such as equity, affordability, environmental stewardship, community design, and economic growth.

As societal needs for automobiles have changed, so has parking in the United States. In the early 1900s, the curb was the only place allocated for parking in American cities, as the modern parking lot did not yet exist. Personal automobile ownership rates surged in the 1920s, leading to an increase in the number of automobiles on urban roadways. Private and public parking facilities were created to reduce vehicle congestion and alleviate safety concerns caused by the increase in automobiles.

As the 20th century progressed, the development of parking facilities allowed the personal automobile to emerge as the dominant mode of transportation in the U.S. Beginning in the 1940s, municipal zoning codes mandated minimum designated parking space requirements for each developed lot to ensure anyone traveling by automobile would have a place to park at their destination. Parking requirements alongside the increased distance of travel allowed by automobiles, prompted the expansion of American cities into undeveloped areas outside of their original urban cores. Historical parking patterns have significantly shaped the development of the cities we live in today.

Today's urban planners strive to find a balance between too much and too little parking to ensure city development supports economic, environmental, and social well-being.

Use the slider on the image below to see how development in downtown Rockford has shifted from 1939 to 2021.

Please take the following survey and add a pin to the mapping feature below to inform how parking in the Rockford Region can be improved for environmental, economic, and social prosperity.