Bicycle Fixation Weblog
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07/02/2009: "Free Parking Costs You Plenty"
David Seymour, writing in the Montreal Gazette this week, outlines what we pay for providing motorists with free (or even cheap) parking everywhere...another example of cyclists, pedestrians, and transit users being forced to subsidize motorheads who really believe they "own the road." Among Seymour's points:- Parking is not free; the cost is merely hidden
- The cost of providing a single parking space could be up to $40,000
- By taking up land, parking spots reduce density and make car travel more appealing, which leads to greater demand for parking
- Low-income earners are more likely to carpool, use public transit, walk or cycle, so they are less likely to benefit from the parking they are forced to subsidize
It's also a good companion piece to the Texas DOT's explanation of car subsidies in Do Roads Pay for Themselves? (quoted in CommuteOrlando).
