EastView Supplement to End the Parking Plague

In his main article, Akira proposes that removing parking minimums could help improve the condition of American cities over time. In his EastView, Akira attempts to step into the minds of people who disagree with him, arguing against removing parking minimums. 

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In Jarrett Walker’s book, Human Transit, he defines several elements of useful transit. The first two are:

• “It takes you where you want to go”
• “It takes you when you want to go”

Though Walker was no ardent proponent of automobile transport himself, his principles reveal just how critical cars are to the American way of life. It is undeniable that cars can support these two core elements. So, it’s unsurprising that it is the “dominant mode” of transit in our society. I think even he would agree. 

The dominant mode of transit is so important because that is what creates access. Transportation is nothing without access and transportation IS access. And in the United States of today, automobile transit is access. A vessel for freedom that has become encoded into our patriotic DNA. 

While many lament the fact that the U.S. is built the way it is, there is no quick fix. Auto-oriented development has prevailed, with suggestions of a new vision for the built environment representing nothing but idealist visions blinding us from practical reality. 

The reality is that without cars and auto-oriented land use, we don’t have much of a transportation network. Parking is central to the functioning of the current “dominant mode” of transit, and eliminating parking minimums would slowly undermine the ability for people to go where they want to go, when they want to go. 

With 91% of American households owning a car, and 72% of Americans relying on private car travel for commuting purposes, it is imperative that infrastructure be able to cater to our current needs and demands. Since eliminating parking minimums is often economically favorable for real estate investors, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the backbone of automobile travel is protected and that people can ensure they can easily get to where they need to.

There are two notable downsides to the evaporation of parking in favor of other land uses. One is increased congestion. While research isn’t concrete, eliminating parking minimums may decrease traffic flow in certain commercial areas. Frantically driving in circles looking for parking is a common experience for Americans. The decreased flow exacerbates the downsides of automobile traffic such as CO2 emissions. 

The other notable downside would be local municipalities’ inability to manage on-street parking. Cities such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Philadelphia are places where cars were awkwardly integrated into the fabric of daily life because they were built before the proliferation of automobiles. In these cities, it is favorable for property owners to save money on providing parking, and instead offload these responsibilities to the local governments. Cars park on the streets, narrowing the driving space and disrupting other functions like mail delivery, street cleaning, and garbage disposal. And since many residents in these areas can get by without a car, they are less likely to demand parking from their landlords. 

This incentive elimination puts the brunt squarely on local government, which is often unprepared to handle such circumstances. If every property owner begins to think like this, then problems start to rise. For many Americans in these cities and beyond, a lack of parking means lack of access, and if we lack access in our dominant mode of transit, then our network is failed. 

The truth of the matter is that automobile travel is not going anywhere, and definitely not anytime soon. By eliminating parking mandates, we threaten the core of what makes transportation in our country successful. The nation and its economy has risen to great heights on the backs of automobile travel, and it's imperative to ensure that we protect it at all costs.

Reflecting on the EastView

In the following segment, Akira reflects on the EastView, pondering where he agrees with it, and where he feels the detractors are mistaken. 

Where I agree:

Automobiles are the dominant mode of transit and are important to the daily lives of millions of Americans and the U.S. economy. 

Given its role as the dominant mode of transit, so much of our livelihoods depend upon cars to get from point A to point B. Without this access, our way of being and national identity is threatened. 

If parking mandates are removed, there is strong likelihood that parking spaces will be converted to other uses. This will cause much of the operational burden of parking to be offloaded to municipalities. 

Are cities and towns ready for this responsibility? 

Where I disagree

The assumption that parking is a necessary component of the overall transportation network is flawed. Parking is merely an amenity and we, as a society, have absolute control over its usage and influence on our transit network. 

Automobile transportation can still exist without parking being thought of as critical to the entire network. The rest of the world has done a good job to support this argument. 

Solutions are clear. Old ones like improving the capacity of public transit, and newer ones like municipalities operating parking locations outside of the city, accessible via shuttle service, are on the table. Or they can resort to using technology to better manage curb usages for on-street parking.

For example, companies like Vade use machine vision to help municipalities determine the utilization of the curbs (who is using space for how long), and help them make informed decisions about how to accurately designate or price curb space. There is also potential for services to match business fleets with parking spaces before arrival, ensuring lack of wasted space.   

The argument with regards to all the problems that may arise by eliminating parking mandates will negate itself over time. We as a nation will quickly adapt to the loss of parking; it is a forcing function. We will always need to get from Point A to Point B, it will just be done in a more sustainable manner, inside of more beautiful cities.