The High Cost of Free Parking
Publisher: American Planning Association
Published: March 1, 2005
Language: eng
Format: Hardcover
Number of pages: 752
ISBN-13: 9781884829987
Subjects: Local government policies; Transport planning & policy; General; Business/Economics; Business & Economics; Business / Economics / Finance; USA; Planning; Business & Economics / General; Economics - General; Automobile parking; Economic aspects
Description: "Free parking isn't really free. In fact, the average parking space costs more than the average car. Initially, developers pay for the required parking, but soon tenants do, and then their customers, and so on, until the cost of parking has diffused throughout the economy. When we shop, eat in a restaurant, or see a movie, we pay for parking indirectly because its cost is included in the price of everything from hamburgers to housing. The total subsidy for parking is staggering, about the size of the Medicare or national defense budgets. But free parking has other costs: It distorts transportation choices, warps urban form, and degrades the environment." "This book unravels current parking policies and proposes sensible, fair alternatives that will free us from the high cost of free parking."--Jacket.