Free parking? It sounds like an idea too good to be true, and that’s because quite possibly, it is. At least that’s what Donald Shoup argues in “Yes, Parking Reform is Possible”. A public policy which allows an extensive amount of parking in a crowded city at little to no cost, regardless of budgets or consequences, will have serious negative effects to a community. Shoup predicts that we can achieve major social, economic, and environmental advantages at virtually no expense merely by subsidizing people and places, rather than parking. Donald Shoup summarizes his case in three easy principles: charge fair-market prices for curb parking, invest the resulting revenue in developments for areas like public neighborhoods, and eliminate off-street
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Problems in inner-city populations often become apparent only after solutions are presented. Now with technological advancements available, it is simpler to identify all the problems caused by off-street parking requirements and use that information to determine an ideal parking rate. The best demonstration of such a system is San Francisco’s impressive pilot program called SFpark, which modifies curb parking prices to attain a target occupancy rate by utilizing sensors that track the vacancy of each space in real time. This flexibility of parking prices means there is always sensibly-priced parking available for the general public, and businesses don’t have to worry about being affected because these curb spaces will always remain almost fully occupied. Shoup states that “SFpark embodies two key ideas. First, you cannot set the right price for curb parking without observing the resulting occupancy rate. The goal is to set the lowest price the city can charge without creating a parking shortage. Second, small changes in parking prices and location choices can lead to big improvements in transportation efficiency.” (Shoup, p …show more content…
A minimum parking regulation means that a city directs new construction to have a select number of parking spaces per square footage of a building. Shoup explains that there are two big problems which are driving some cities to take away parking requirements: “First, parking requirements prevent infill development on small lots where fitting both a new building and the required parking is difficult and expensive. Second, parking requirements prevent new uses for many older buildings that lack the parking spaces required for the new ones” (Shoup, p 34). When planners enforce minimum parking requirements, they inadvertently worsen vehicle dependency and decrease urban density. Without respect to either the cost of providing parking spaces or what drivers are willing to pay for them, parking requirements are based on the demand shown at a zero price. When all merchants are required to offer a sufficient number of parking spots to satisfy demand at a zero price, the ensuing market price will be zero. The effect is negative as a vicious circle of subsidization for parking develops, there is a substantial oversupply of parking, and this abundance then suggest a perceived “demand” that is used to set future minimum parking requirements. Eradicating minimum parking requirements will urge people to do what urban planners
Problems in inner-city populations often become apparent only after solutions are presented. Now with technological advancements available, it is simpler to identify all the problems caused by off-street parking requirements and use that information to determine an ideal parking rate. The best demonstration of such a system is San Francisco’s impressive pilot program called SFpark, which modifies curb parking prices to attain a target occupancy rate by utilizing sensors that track the vacancy of each space in real time. This flexibility of parking prices means there is always sensibly-priced parking available for the general public, and businesses don’t have to worry about being affected because these curb spaces will always remain almost fully occupied. Shoup states that “SFpark embodies two key ideas. First, you cannot set the right price for curb parking without observing the resulting occupancy rate. The goal is to set the lowest price the city can charge without creating a parking shortage. Second, small changes in parking prices and location choices can lead to big improvements in transportation efficiency.” (Shoup, p …show more content…
A minimum parking regulation means that a city directs new construction to have a select number of parking spaces per square footage of a building. Shoup explains that there are two big problems which are driving some cities to take away parking requirements: “First, parking requirements prevent infill development on small lots where fitting both a new building and the required parking is difficult and expensive. Second, parking requirements prevent new uses for many older buildings that lack the parking spaces required for the new ones” (Shoup, p 34). When planners enforce minimum parking requirements, they inadvertently worsen vehicle dependency and decrease urban density. Without respect to either the cost of providing parking spaces or what drivers are willing to pay for them, parking requirements are based on the demand shown at a zero price. When all merchants are required to offer a sufficient number of parking spots to satisfy demand at a zero price, the ensuing market price will be zero. The effect is negative as a vicious circle of subsidization for parking develops, there is a substantial oversupply of parking, and this abundance then suggest a perceived “demand” that is used to set future minimum parking requirements. Eradicating minimum parking requirements will urge people to do what urban planners