3 ms·

Or you end up with fist fights and road rage over limited resources. And it's very easy to say "limit access to cars", but it absolutely requires a build-up of

Or you end up with fist fights and road rage over limited resources. And it's very easy to say "limit access to cars", but it absolutely requires a build-up of public transit to make up for it, which usually goes beyond local zoning practice

paulgb 3y ago
I interpret “let the market decide” as also charging market rates for street parking, in which case the resources are only as limited as the market decides -- if more people want to park than there is room for, the private market can meet that demand by building garages/private lots. The High Cost of Free Parking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Cost_of_Free_Parking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Cost_of_Free_Parking) is pretty eye-opening in terms of how non-drivers end up bearing the cost of parking minimums.
- LargeTomato 3y ago
  If the market determined the price of parking then people would flip out because parking was only affordable to the middle class and it would instantly be framed as an anti-poor thing.
  - paulgb 3y ago
    It would be framed that way, but the irony is that mandatory parking minimums are more anti-poor, it’s just that the burden on the poor is hidden in the cost of housing making it less obvious. Car ownership is lower among people with very low incomes, but if they want a place to live they still have to pay for parking to be built. Shoup’s book has some examples of proposed low-income housing that ended up getting blocked over parking minimums, even though most of the would-be residents did not own cars.
- passwordoops 3y ago
  And will the market provide viable, sustainable alternatives to driving? Hint: no it won't, because markets don't work in delivering large-scale infrastructure for the commons
  - paulgb 3y ago
    Not immediately, but internalizing the cost of parking could nudge two-car households towards becoming one-car households, or encouraging people to carpool instead of owning.

paulgb 3y ago

I interpret “let the market decide” as also charging market rates for street parking, in which case the resources are only as limited as the market decides -- if more people want to park than there is room for, the private market can meet that demand by building garages/private lots. The High Cost of Free Parking (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Cost_of_Free_Parking https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_High_Cost_of_Free_Parking) is pretty eye-opening in terms of how non-drivers end up bearing the cost of parking minimums.

LargeTomato 3y ago
If the market determined the price of parking then people would flip out because parking was only affordable to the middle class and it would instantly be framed as an anti-poor thing.
- paulgb 3y ago
  It would be framed that way, but the irony is that mandatory parking minimums are more anti-poor, it’s just that the burden on the poor is hidden in the cost of housing making it less obvious. Car ownership is lower among people with very low incomes, but if they want a place to live they still have to pay for parking to be built. Shoup’s book has some examples of proposed low-income housing that ended up getting blocked over parking minimums, even though most of the would-be residents did not own cars.
passwordoops 3y ago
And will the market provide viable, sustainable alternatives to driving? Hint: no it won't, because markets don't work in delivering large-scale infrastructure for the commons
- paulgb 3y ago
  Not immediately, but internalizing the cost of parking could nudge two-car households towards becoming one-car households, or encouraging people to carpool instead of owning.