The High Price of Free Parking
Imagine always finding a spot open on a given block in Golden. Not just you, but other users too. And imagine nice amenities on the sidewalk, places to sit, or rest, or watch people parallel park. Available parking, and amenities. How can this be possible? By completely eliminating free parking.
It is hard to do justice to a book, The High Cost of Free Parking, by Donald Shoup., of such depth and breadth, but I will try to make it brief.
If parking is priced such that demand never exceeds supply, then spots will be available. The revenue from such a scheme is returned not to the general fund, but to the neighborhood. So, this could be a residential neighborhood, a commercial neighborhood, whatever. The key is that everyone pays. How unfair you say? Well…the city streets are a public right of way. When a person who owns a car parks for free in this right of way, they are taking out a piece of land out of public use. Is that fair? In particular is it fair to people who don’t own or can’t afford to own cars? Only that one driver benefits and no one else. Why should they not pay for that use? After all, we charge to park at many places for public enjoyment, such as at a theater or sports venue, why not retail? Because, well, we never have! That’s why! I could go on, but that is the brief introduction. Everyone pays, the rates vary based on demand, and the money goes back to the local neighborhood to keep it nice and clean and welcoming.
What is the cost of creating space for parking? When one considers that a person looking for parking and not finding it adds to traffic, we see a huge cost. In almost every way a “benefit district”, that is one that has paid parking and the revenues return to the district beat the outcome of just parking requirements (even off street) every time. For simplicity, since Shoup is the expert I will quote from the conclusion of the text.
(The High Cost of Free Parking, Page 584)
Off-street parking requirements will hide the cost of parking in the prices for everything else. They will collectivize the cost of parking.so everyone will pay for parking whether they use it or not. Free parking will encourage vehicle travel and discourage travel by foot, bicycle and public transit. It will therefore increase energy consumption, traffic congestion and air pollution. The city will be designed and built around free parking —at the expense of many other public goals. The nation will import more cars and fuel. The cost of required parking will be a hidden tax everyone must pay through higher prices for everything they buy, even if they do not own a car. The city will earn no curb parking revenue to pay for public investments.
Market prices for curb parking will “individualize” the cost of parking and give everyone incentive to economize in using it. This policy will reveal the cost of parking and allow private choices to determine the off-street parking supply. Market prices will create a few curb vacancies so that drivers can always find a place to park near their destinations. The price of parking will restrain the demand for cars and will therefore reduce energy consumption, traffic congestion, and air pollution. More people will travel by foot, bicycle, carpool, and public transit. The nation will import fewer cars and less fuel. Because motorists will pay for parking directly, no one wil be forced to pay for it indirectly.. Curb parking revenue will pay for neighborhood public investments.
And finally - The revenue from curb parking will focus planners’ attention on streets and neighborhoods. Because neighborhoods will have real money to spend and real choices to make, the residents’ preference will require new weight and real community participation will be necessary. Concentrating planners’ attention on the task of improving older neighborhoods may well be one of the new parking paradigm’s most important benefits.