Should Cities Get Rid of On-Street Parking?

Parking is a common feature of streets, but is that really the best use of street space?

Resources on this topic:

Shoup, D. C. (2021). *The high cost of free parking*. Routledge.

Produced by Dave Amos and the fine folks at Nebula Studios.
Written by Dave Amos and Hannah Woolsey
Select images and video from Getty Images.
Black Lives Matter.

[gst]

I used to believe that groups of people knew what was in their own best interest, then I started studying how merchants reacted to car policy. Shop owners in cities are always wrong about how many people arrive at their business by car. Always wrong about the impact of losing parking spaces, and always pleasantly (if begrudgingly) surprised at how well they do when streets are pedestrianized.

[antonstandwerth]

I was thinking about what impact street parking has for the average speed. Also provides a barrier for pedestrians. But a wall of trees would be even more preferable than a wall of parked cars

[hallmichael]

As a City parking manager its very refreshing to see a video explaining some the issues we have to think about. I think I will share this video with colleagues, councillors and the public - its a succinct overview of the issues around pricing and rationing on-street (and off-street parking). Well done.

[tstieber]

Here in San Diego, tons of dedicated bike lanes are being put in everywhere. In many cases, the street parking is not eliminated, but instead, what used to be street parking becomes a bike lane with a strip of planters, and then one of two driving Lanes becomes the parking Lane. That way, there's enough room for parking, bikes, but let's room for driving. It doesn't seem to make traffic any worse though, in the streets have a much more walkable scale by being narrow and having more plantings.
Overall, I think it's good to preserve street parking but play around with different configurations of passenger loading, 30 minutes, surge demand pricing, and other models that allow for flexibility as habits and needs change. People always think they can predict or plan the future, which is what doomed streetcar systems all over the country in favor of cars. Now, the city's wish they had kept the streetcars. So before radically eliminating parking altogether, these flexible models are a good way to feel out what works and what doesn't.

[foobar]

I think it is also important to keep in mind that limiting parking is not of much use if you have no alternative to driving. This is a lesson that many small and medium towns in Germany learned the hard way. After removing free parking from the town center, people from the surrounding villages simply did not come any more and went to shopping centers at the edge of town. Where I come from, they solved the problem by offering the first hour for free in a nearby parking garage

[NotJustBikes]

Great video, as usual! I watched on Nebula. 😉

Parked cars really don't belong on the street, except in some highly limited cases. Japan is the only country that does this properly, however.

We need to break this expectation that drivers can just park at the side of the road. Cars are not horses.

[Cynbel_Terreus]

I think what's particularly interesting about the intersection you chose is that there are literally 2 parking structures right there. Ironically this didn't seem to come up in your analysis in removing the on-street parking, it probably should have. Like that intersection is a great candidate to replace the on-street parking with bike lanes, because of those two structures which might be under utilized due to the on-street parking.

[davidbalcon]

Your Toronto example clearly demonstrates that most shops in this neighbourhood get the vast majority of their shoppers from that neighbourhood. Bloor St (and it’s easterly extension known as The Danforth) links dozens of residential neighbourhoods and the majority of those residents walk, take the TTC (major subway line runs along this corridor) and bike. So the character of the neighbourhoods major streets run through is a major consideration in your decision scenario.

[Clckclck]

Set up a (local) monitoring format to make it publishable. Numbers, numbers, numbers. If anyone has the
(In the Netherlands (Utrecht) shopkeepers asked to have parking spaces removed because they noticed their businesses lagged compared to shops without street parking.)

[livingbeings]

Don’t forget the health impact of breathing the exhaust of vehicles idling in parking spaces right next to the outdoor cafe seating.

[microcosm]

Just today I saw an area of Houston, Rice Village, where parking lots and curbside parking was being converted to outdoor seating and picnic/yard game areas. Love seeing it in person and learning about it on here

[davidty]

On Street parking...
Sure is an interesting topic. As someone in britain it's on litterally every single residential street often turning the 2 lane street into 1 lane with passing areas due to all the parked cars.

[Jack-fwmw]

Black Friday parking lots, and now Black Friday on street parking. I am noticing a trend here.

[djdj]

I imagine as a car driver, on street parking is nice and comfortable in many scenarios. In Europe its also pretty normal to have streets stuffed with standing cars. I actually have no string negative feelings for this but when walking, i obviously enjoy streets with less obstacles there.

[matthall]

On thing that is not mentioned about street parking is how it prevents advertising your shop front to drivers and pedestrians. I live in Japan where there is no street parking and not being distracted from looking at the architecture and public art by a sea of parked cars makes living here all the more enjoyable (though yes, there are still way too many cars in Japan)

[KorKhan]

I think the approach needs to situational. On-street parking can be a good option in less densely inhabited suburban and rural areas. In cities, though, you really need to find ways to limit it. For urban residential neighbourhoods and any commercial districts where underground parking isn’t an option, you can use parking metres or time limited blue zones (with long-term parking rights for local residents), while at the same time making as much of the city centre as you can entirely car free. And of course, build up transit and bike infrastructure so cars aren’t needed in the first place!

[RipCityBassWorks]

Yes. San Francisco could have dedicated lanes for most to all Muni lines if they ditched some street parking. Portland could have dedicated lanes for much more of the streetcar by ditching some street parking.

[sams]

I would be in favour if there was spaces kept specifically for disabled people and others with mobility issues. My mother has mobility issues but can’t be classed as disabled to get the blue badge and often it means parking at a car park and it’s very time consuming for to get around as she has to walk incredibly slow vs if she just popped into a shop from an adj space. It’s also an issue when carrying bags for example. I wouldn’t have a problem with able bodied people like myself being forbidden from those parking spaces and made to use car parks or garages. Here in Ireland as far I am aware we have high fines if you park in a disabled parking space, maybe the same could be done for these 2nd tier “prioritised” spaces

[sunglassesemojis]

One thing that I, as a pedestrian, like about on-street parking is the barrier it provides me from moving traffic. I'm at least 8 feet farther from moving cars with a big wall of metal in between. I think it also makes urban patio dining more pleasant too, for the same reason. I feel safer walking along streets with street parking than I do walking along streets without. It also slows down traffic.

[johncaswell]

Here's something that I want people to keep in mind as they push for changes like this (I'm not against the changes, but this is a cautionary tale). Denver, the biggest city near me, is especially bad at making small scale changes like converting parking to bike lanes along a street... and then patting themselves on the back and considering it job done. Problem is, it's not part of a bigger plan, and usually done in isolation. The bike lanes often go mostly unused because they do this along business heavy areas, and few people live close enough to bike (it's getting better but mixed development wasn't really a thing in Denver until maybe 15 years ago) and now people who had to drive to that business because they were too far to walk or bike have nowhere to park, and end up cruising for parking, or even more often, giving up because the only parking to be found is too far to walk to the destination, and transit in the city is an absolute nightmare. I don't want to live in the city, but sometimes I have to go to the city for concerts, specialty shops, etc. I'd be perfectly happy to hop on a train or bus or whatever and walk or take transit around while visiting, but in many North American cities, that part doesn't exist yet. Please, please look at the comprehensive systems when pushing for changes. You can turn those parking spaces into a bike line or wider sidewalks, but maybe hold off on that step until other pieces of the puzzle are in place, and focus on the parts that reduce the need for the parking space in the first place.