The Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE) is an international professional and educational association of transportation engineers, planners and related professionals, founded in 1930.
ITE publishes technical guidance used throughout traffic and parking work, most notably the Trip Generation Manual and the Parking Generation Manual, which report observed trip and parking demand rates for many land uses. Planners and engineers use these rates in traffic impact studies and parking demand estimates.
Using ITE parking rates well
- Most data points come from suburban sites with free parking and little transit, so raw rates tend to overstate demand in urban, walkable or priced settings.
- Use the setting and location categories the manual provides, check sample sizes, and adjust for mode share, pricing and sharing.
- Local counts beat national averages. See parking utilization studies and parking demand analysis.
The Parkonomics view
ITE rates are a starting point, not a requirement. Treated as a minimum, they have built a great deal of empty parking. Treated as one input, alongside local counts and the price of parking, they are useful.
Related terms: Parking Demand Analysis, Parking Ratios, Traffic Study, Urban Land Institute, Shared Parking