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The problem is that Denver has too low a population density combined with the fact that owning and operating a car is too cheap, easy and flexible. Cars are to
by cletus 9y ago
The problem is that Denver has too low a population density combined with the fact that owning and operating a car is too cheap, easy and flexible.
Cars are too cheap because we subsidize them too much, in terms of roads, parking lots and so on. It still strikes me as crazy that >$1B in land value (back of the envelope calculation) of Manhattan is dedicated to FREE street parking.
Likewise in most places population density is too low as a consequence of just how much land there is and as a matter of policy. It's crazy to me that in a city like Atlanta (for example) you can get 1-2 acre lots.
- gok 9y ago> Cars are too cheap because we subsidize them too much, in terms of roads, parking lots and so on. I find this argument increasingly tired. Car sales themselves are not directly subsidized. Yeah taxes build roads, but that's largely covered by fuel taxes. And roads are used by trucks and buses too. We could tax parking more than we do, but just because we could tax something and aren't doesn't mean that we're subsidizing it. I appreciate there are some exceptions where cash-strapped cities are leaving money on the table, but that's rare. Better mass transit is certainly a good idea, but the excuse every time it doesn't work out is "cars are cheating." It looks more like a lot of transit systems are being designed, built and operated incompetently.
- cattleprodigy 9y agoYeah, I thought the cost of car ownership was under-explored in this article. If increasing public ridership is a goal then it might help to use sticks and not just carrots.
- chadgeidel 9y agoStreetsblog has extensively covered the Denver parking issue. https://denver.streetsblog.org/category/parking/ https://denver.streetsblog.org/category/parking/
- YSFEJ4SWJUVU6 9y agoWell, it's not like public transit is not subsidized... people who commute with a car pay taxes, too.