Environmental impacts of parking facilities in urban areas

Parking problems in major urban centers are typically an accumulation of the effects of several factors, including short sighted urban planning regulations, pricing distortions, ineffective enforcement and vague transport and parking policies. This paper presents an environmental impact assessment of a proposed parking structure (typical of many other proposed ones) in the Beirut area where parking deficiencies have increased significantly in recent years due to post-war development and reconstruction efforts. The focus of this assessment is on the evaluation of potential noise and air quality impacts of the proposed parking facility and the definition of corresponding mitigation measures to alleviate adverse impacts. The assessment was conducted using both field measurements and computer simulation models.