Six Surprising Parking Reform Ideas

Reinventing Parking

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This month I want to share some parking reform ideas that will probably be new to you. There are six ideas, so I only describe each one briefly.

1. What if we require private off-street parking to report regularly on usage levels? [4:02]
2. Should we turn every decent-sized building and its parking into a mini Parking Benefit District? [8:35]
3. Project to create many city maps of areas with paid parking [12:00]
4. Alternative to maximums: make parking count as floor area [14:05]
5. Parking moratorium (or maybe even parking draw-down) [18:39]
6. Please abolish parking mandates, but it you must have them, make them Japan-style [22:41]

Some of these may seem a bit wacky. But I think they are worth investigating. I hope they are at least thought provoking.

If some of the ideas seem radical, be aware that they are inspired by a post-parking-reform vision of a near future that looks something like this (and is not so very radical, in my opinion):

The users of parking cover its costs. Governments don't boost parking supply but instead want to prevent oversupply. Less space than now is devoted to parking and more to more important things. Parking regulations will not be a barrier to affordable housing or to corner stores. All parking is well managed. Motorists will have no parking hassles. But they will almost always have to pay a parking fee appropriate to the location. Parking gluts will no longer undermine our mobility options. There will be less traffic but everyone will enjoy better urban mobility.

But please look away if you expect parking to mostly be free of charge and plentiful at the end of most trips. These ideas will not give you that!