About the project

The Town of Cochrane underwent a complete review and rewrite of Cochrane's Land Use Bylaw, and one of the major changes proposed was the removal of minimum parking requirements for non-residential uses. This proposed change reflects the evolving needs of our community, and will help remove barriers to business opportunities in Cochrane, create more choice and flexibility for development and create a more walkable and vibrant community.

What are parking minimums?

Traditionally, Land Use Bylaws have included the use of minimum parking stall requirements, where the number of stalls required for a business to provide is determined by the business type, and the size and/or capacity of the building.

Disadvantages of parking minimums

These parking minimums have been found to result in an oversupply of parking for several different uses throughout Town, because the minimum parking requirements often exceed the demand for parking. In addition, there are a number of other issues that often result from mandating minimum parking requirements, including:

  • Overestimating the need for parking, resulting in vacant parking lots where additional building may be provided.
  • Discouraging the use of other more active modes of transportations (i.e. cycling, pedestrians, public transit use).
  • Parking costs money, and that cost is indirectly passed onto the consumers, businesses and taxpayers.
  • Designing our communities for vehicles rather than people.

Why was this change proposed?

The removal of parking minimums would allow businesses and development to determine how much parking makes sense for their development, rather than relying on parking rates within the Land Use Bylaw. This is expected to provide relief for businesses, create walkable and attractive communities and make Cochrane a more sustainable community.

Many Alberta municipalities are moving towards the removal of parking minimums including High River, Edmonton, Medicine Hat (in many non-residential districts) and the City of Calgary who are currently proposing this same change.

*The proposed change would not impact the parking requirements for residential properties in Cochrane.