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In congested urban areas parking cars is time consuming and sometimes expensive. Urban planners must consider whether and how to accommodate motor vehicles in small geographic areas. Usually local authorities set minimum, or more rarely maximum, numbers of parking spaces for new housing and commercial developments, and may also plan the location and distribution to influence its convenience and accessibility. The costs or subsidies of such parking accommodations can become a heated point in local politics. For example, in 2006 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors considered an innovative zoning plan to limit the number of motor vehicle parking spaces available in new residential developments. [1]

transportcostsdirect.jpg

In this graph the value above the line represents the out-of-pocket cost per trip, per person for each mode of transportation, the value below the line accounts for subsidies, environmental impact, social and indirect costs. When cities charge market rates for on-street parking and municipal parking garages, and when bridges and tunnels are tolled for these modes, driving becomes less competitive in terms of out-of-pocket costs than other modes of transportation. When parking is underpriced and roads are not tolled, the shortfall in tax expenditures by drivers, through gas tax and other taxes amounts to a very large subsidy for automobile use. The size of this subsidy for cars dwarfs the federal, state, and local subsidies for the maintenance of infrastructure and discounted fares for public transportation.[2]

REFERENCES


[1] Vega, Cecilia. "Supes to consider limit on parking spaces at new buildings", San Francisco Chronicle, pp. B - 2.

[2] Graph based on data from Transportation for Livable Cities By Vukan R. Vuchic page. 76. 1999. ISBN 0882851616


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Costs of Travel

Created July 22 by Susan Donovan
Edited August 13 by Lily Bernheimer (view changes)

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