The Austin City Council in Austin, Texas recently proposed something that may be seen as the political Kryptonite of Austin: eliminating parking minimums.
These are the rules that determine how much off-street parking developers have to provide — that is, a specific number of spaces per commercial and residential.
In the United States cities are taking on the city’s own parking rules in hopes of ending up with fewer parking spaces as well as more affordable housing, improved transit and more walkable areas.
A few Austinites were opposed to reversing the rules.
“Austin is an urban area with a low density but without an adequate mass transportation system,” said resident Malcolm Yeatts. “Austin citizens are not able to part with their automobiles. The lack of parking spaces for Austin residents will only encourage the migration of middle class and companies to suburbs.”
However, there were a lot more those who argued for the elimination of the minimums, and the effect they’ve had on costs for housing as well as congestion and walkability.
“I believe that our nation has been wasting its land as if it were an unlucky lottery winner who’s lost their wealth,” said resident Tai Hovanky. “We literally created paradise and set up a parking space.”
The proposal was approved by the council which made Austin the largest city in the nation to abolish its parking requirements across the entire city.
Numerous cities have gotten rid of parking requirements
It’s not just Austin. More than 50 other cities and towns have thrown out their minimums, from Anchorage, Alaska, and San San Jose Calif. from San Jose, California in San Jose to Gainesville, Fla.
“They’re basically empty weight,” says Tony Jordan President of the Parking Reform Network of parking minimums. One concern is the extent to which they are arbitrary.
Go to bowling alleys. Jordan says that the amount of parking spots per bowling lane may range from two to five in cities that are close to one another.
“What’s what’s the distinction between bowlers from city A and a bowler in city B? Nothing. The codes were created … quite arbitrarily in the past about 30 to 40 years ago. they’re extremely difficult to alter because whenever the city is looking to alter them it’s a huge crowd,” he says.
No matter how random these rules might be, they can have significant effects: Parking causes the appearance of sprawl and makes communities less accessible to walk through. Asphalt traps heat and leads to runoff. Parking requirements can result in significant expenses to the construction of new homes: one parking space could cost upwards of $50,000.
One study in 2017 found that garage parking could increase the cost of a house approximately 17 percent.
The issue, according to Jordan is the reason that housing does not get constructed: “The housing that could have been built in the space, or which wasn’t constructed because the developer was unable to provide enough parking. … Therefore, we simply lose housing for a convenient place to store automobiles.”
A plan for letting the market determine
Austin City Council member Zo Qadri was the main supporter of the resolution that sought to abolish parking mandates. He stresses the fact that eliminating mandates for parking isn’t the same as eliminating parks: “It simply lets the market and the individual property owners decide on what amounts of parking is appropriate or required.”
Austin has eliminated the requirement for parking in its downtown area about a decade earlier, “and the market has maintained plenty of parking in the majority of projects since the time,” says Qadri.
A recent survey by Pew Charitable Trusts found that 62 percent of Americans favor homeowners and builders in making decisions regarding the amount of parking spaces off the street rather than local authorities.
Angela Greco, a 36-year-old writer and musician from Austin is one of the many. The driver is a friend, however she would rather walk or use public transportation. She’s not concerned that getting rid of the rules of the past could make it difficult to find a parking spot. park.
“I’ve been in cities where parking is more difficult, for instance New York and L.A.,” Greco says. “Parking isn’t that hard in Austin for me in the beginning, even in extremely urban zones.”
She says whether Austin invests in walking and transit or increases its spending on cars, plays a big role for her decision to live in Austin in the long run.
“Like when it doesn’t appear that public transportation is going to improve or if it looks as though the expansion of the highway will happen and I’m likely to look for a place other places I can stay. … The highway expansion is an important factor in my daily life and happiness. For instance, sometimes I’m on the road, and I’ll find myself in traffic or and even in the middle of the highway and it’s such a dingy scene,” Greco says. “And I’ll then think”This isn’t the way I’d like to spend my life as an adult.”
Parking is a problem that can impede efficient transportation
What is the reasoning behind cities with no good transportation infrastructure aren’t able to cut down on parking?
Jonathan Levine, a professor of urban and regional planning at the University of Michigan who studies policy changes in transportation city parking requirements can make transportation almost impossible to build.
“An area with lots of parking spaces is considered transit-hostile,” he says.
He explains the reason when people use public transportation, they finish the journey on foot to where they want to go. A plethora of parking spaces near the location makes that walk longer and reduces the physical surroundings attractive to people walking.
“Who would like to walk through several parking areas to reach your destination?” Levine notes.
Parking lots makes it easier to drive. “If you’re parking everywhere you go and you’re parking in the middle of nowhere, it’s an invitation to drivers, go here! Park here! … Therefore, if you continue to design these areas based on a government mandate and you’re creating zones where transit isn’t able to serve,” says Levine.
There are many more U.S. cities – including New York City, Milwaukee, and Dallas and Dallas are looking into removing their parking requirements as well. Duluth, Minn., removed its parking requirements in December..
Levine says that getting rid of the rules is good for cities.
“It’s a major impact on affordability of housing. It’s also a major obstacle to cities achieving their goals that allows for people to interact. Parking is the reason why it creates a barrier between land uses and is a barrier between people. The result is that cities are an even more expansive physical footprint than they would otherwise.”
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