Journal of Sustainable Urban & Regional Development Studies (JSURDS)

Abstract Background and Objective: Parking management is one of the most important instruments of urban transportation management. Appropriate parking pricing policies can significantly influence traffic efficiency, travel behavior, and urban quality of life. Among transportation demand management strategies, urban network pricing has been recognized as an effective mechanism for addressing two major urban transportation challenges, namely traffic congestion and environmental pollution. In this context, parking pricing can be employed as an economic tool to regulate parking demand, reduce cruising traffic, improve network performance, and optimize the utilization of limited urban land resources. This study aims to determine optimal parking prices for selected parking facilities in District 5 of Isfahan City by employing a mathematical programming framework based on Nash equilibrium. The proposed model minimizes total network costs while accounting for the equilibrium behavior of drivers in their parking location choices.
Methodology: The analytical framework assumes that travelers select parking facilities by minimizing their generalized travel costs, which consist of driving costs, parking fees, parking search time costs, and walking costs from parking locations to final destinations. Given fixed parking locations and travel destinations, optimal parking prices are determined through a network cost minimization problem under equilibrium conditions. The empirical analysis focuses on District 5 of Isfahan City. The study network consists of five origins (Tohid, Pole Felezi, Pole Azar, Hakim Nezami, and Mohtasham–Shariati), three major destinations (Hakim Nezami, Nazar, and Jolfa), and three public parking facilities (Tohid, Khaghani, and Jolfa). Traffic and parking demand data were analyzed over eight hourly periods. The optimization model was solved for each time period to estimate optimal parking prices and occupancy levels.
Results and findings: The results reveal significant temporal variations in optimal parking prices across the selected facilities. The average optimal parking fees were estimated at 7,040 Tomans for Tohid Parking, 8,520 Tomans for Jolfa Parking, and 9,140 Tomans for Khaghani Parking. Furthermore, the estimated optimal parking capacities indicate that Tohid Parking accommodates the highest average occupancy level with 308 parking spaces, followed by Khaghani Parking with 281 spaces and Jolfa Parking with 88 spaces. The findings also demonstrate a positive relationship between optimal parking prices and parking occupancy levels, suggesting relatively inelastic parking demand within the study area. This behavior can be attributed to the concentration of commercial, service, and recreational activities in District 5, which generates a stable demand for parking facilities despite changes in parking fees. The analysis further shows that parking occupancy closely follows traffic volume fluctuations throughout the day. As traffic demand increases during peak periods, parking utilization rises correspondingly, while reductions in traffic volumes are associated with lower parking occupancy rates. This finding highlights the strong interdependence between parking demand and urban traffic conditions.