Among urban designers, it’s common knowledge that free parking isn’t as good of a deal as it sounds. UCLA urban planning professor Donald Shoup, has spent his entire career railing against it. But for most drivers, free parking seems like a boon.
As shared by CityLab, Ottawa has a helpful animated explanation as to why businesses should not provide a set amount of parking spaces. Many cities have outdated zoning laws that require a certain amount of parking depending on a building’s estimated users. This creates unwalkable, barren concrete stretches of cities that aren’t pleasant to hang out in. Consider how hard it is to find parking in New York City, arguably America’s best city to explore on foot, and one with a vibrant street culture. Now think about Houston, a city infamous for a downtown that’s almost more parking lot than city.
Ideally, towns should be creating neighborhoods that feel like places you want to spend time in, rather than places you want to abandon as soon as your workday is over. Plenty of cities have these areas, but they’re usually in older neighborhoods. Creating walkable and bikable cities isn’t just good for reducing traffic, it’s good for business too.
You can fit many more stores in a block with only street parking, versus one in which each of those businesses have dedicated parking lots. Plus, if people can walk around, they’re more likely to pop into a shop. It’s good for affordable housing, too. You can build a whole lot more apartments if you don’t need a parking space for every resident (even those who don’t own cars).
Source: www.mentalfloss.com
