Being able to find parking with ease — a sacred cow concept of Manteca planning and that of other California cities for years — could become a casualty in the city’s effort to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Doing just that is part of four general greenhouse gas emission reduction strategies being vetted by the city’s Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee. They are being explored to meet looming state mandates regarding reducing manmade impacts on climate change.

The general strategies target transportation and land use, energy, water, and solid waste.

Updating parking standards would be used to discourage the use of single passenger fossil-fueled vehicles.

Planning standards that would de-emphasis the use of single passenger vehicles include reserved parking for motorcycles, car sharing, carpooling, and low emissions vehicles such as electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, and compressed natural gas vehicles.

One way to force the issue is raise the minimum standards and lower the maximum standards for development.
Rarely are most commercial parking lots in Manteca filled even at endeavors that are completely built or almost all built. Examples include Costco, Target, Home Depot, and similar locations.

The city’s Big League Dreams sports complex’s 535-space parking is only filled for several hours a year during the Fourth of July aerial fireworks display.

At other times with all six fields in use as well as the indoor soccer arena, the parking lot is rarely more than half full. It is why under existing parking rules, the city is leasing Loma Brewery the 32 spaces they need from the BLD parking spaces.

By limiting the overall parking supply required for new development it is expected  to encourage carpooling and alternative modes of transportation.

This can be done be having shared parking areas between land uses that have different peak demands as well as requiring bicycle parking in proportion to vehicle parking.

The measures can be focused on high trafficked areas like Manteca’s  Central Business District (CBD) of which parking lots make up approximately 20% of the land coverage.

Decreasing both the amount of parking and the ease of parking downtown in and other high trafficked areas would encourage alternative transportation uses.

The end result for greenhouse gas emissions would be an overall reduction in the vehicle miles travelled.

Another potential strategy is financing or incentives for purchasing, using, and maintaining electric micromobility vehicles for personal use (such as bicycles, scooters, trailers).

Such a strategy would be aimed at low-income and “vulnerable” populations.  

There are other advantages to reducing the size of future parking lots.

Less area covered with asphalt and other impermeable surfaces reduces storm runoff.

That in turn reduces water that heads into storm drain systems and ultimately the river. As such he helps reduce the risk of flooding.

That isn’t a minor issue since some state climate models anticipate a shift of precipitation from snow to more rain in the lower elevations and valley as the years go by.

It also generates less heat especially in the summer. As such, it can reduce the need to use as much energy to cool nearby buildings.

 The City Council appointed climate committee consists of Dave Atherton, Judith Blumhorst, Taylor Hasal, Anita Scott, and Leonard Smith along with alternate members Mary Kendrick and Phyllis McDonald.

They are meeting Monday, April 8, at 6 p.m. in the Community Development Services conference room at 1215 W. Center St. Suite 201.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulltin.com