10/07/2011

Posted By: Robin Magnuson

In an effort to reduce pollution, major cities have began to ramp up initiatives to encourage "green" methods of commuting.  Parking garages have began installing electric vehicle charging stations "EV charging stations" to target a "green" minded customer base that prefers to drive hybrid vehicles.  Cities across the U.S are now embracing "Bike Sharing" programs, also known as "Bixi".  This year, the City of Boston has began installing bike sharing stations.  The city's program is called "Hubway".  To date, they have installed 61 stations throughout the city, this equates to 600 bikes.  In certain locations, parking spaces have been removed to make way for the bikes.  The trade-off is less parking for people who still prefer to drive.  This can have a trickle effect for local businesses that now have less parking resources available for their customers’ use.  Valet parking is one alternative a business owner could pursue.  Another option is to engage the closest parking garages and ask management to offer a parking discount/validation to customers.