How Groundbreaking Concepts Are Driving Change in Parking
While it’s been nearly 20 years since the publication of the influential book, “The High Cost of Free Parking,” cities around the world continue to grapple with parking management challenges.
Donald Shoup, a Distinguished Research Professor in the Department of Urban Planning at UCLA, wrote the book and shifted how urban planners, city officials, and citizens think about parking. Shoup argued that “free” parking often isn’t free —it comes with significant costs to cities, communities, and the environment.
Shoup’s theories are still shaping the approach to reducing traffic congestion, improving urban spaces, and supporting economic vitality. His pioneering ideas laid the groundwork for changes we’re now seeing as cities adopt new approaches to align parking resources with community needs.
‘Free’ Parking Isn’t Free
The concept of “free” parking is largely a myth, Shoup argued. While it might seem like a convenient perk, the reality is that someone always pays the cost, even if it is indirectly. Every “free” parking space, whether at a mall, grocery store, or public lot, requires resources to build and maintain.
The costs of free parking don’t just vanish; they’re passed down to consumers, taxpayers, and the public. Whether you drive or not, your taxes help fund the construction, upkeep, and management of parking spaces around your city.
For instance, shopping centers and supermarkets embed parking costs into the prices of goods and services. This silent cost of parking means that we’re all “paying” for it every time we shop, dine, or go out in areas with free spaces.
Free parking often encourages higher demand and can lead to congestion. That congestion means more circling and searching for a spot, resulting in wasted time and fuel. Time lost adds to the true cost of free parking, as drivers spend time they could have used elsewhere.
Free Parking Is Bad for the Environment
The abundance of free parking also has a significant environmental impact. When parking is plentiful and costs nothing, people are more likely to choose driving over alternatives like walking, biking, or taking public transit. More cars on the road means more exhaust in the air and traffic congestion, contributing to air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions.
When parking demand exceeds available spaces, drivers circle blocks looking for a spot, wasting fuel and emitting more exhaust. Studies show that drivers searching for parking can contribute a substantial share of urban traffic.
Parking lots themselves also take up considerable space. In the United States, it’s estimated that there are up to eight parking spaces per car, which means land that could be used for housing, green spaces, or public amenities is instead covered in asphalt.
Paved areas exacerbate environmental issues by trapping heat and increasing surface temperatures, known as the “urban heat island” effect. Parking lots also contribute to flooding. Without natural ground to absorb rainwater, paved surfaces cause more runoff, which can overwhelm city drainage systems and lead to water pollution.
Scarcity Isn’t a Bad Thing
Scarcity in parking can help manage resources effectively. This idea connects to the economic principle known as the “tragedy of the commons.”
The tragedy of the commons describes a situation where individuals, acting in their own interest, overuse and deplete a shared resource. When parking is free and readily available, drivers often linger in spaces longer than necessary, causing congestion and inefficiency.
One solution is to charge for parking to encourage turnover and discourage people from hogging spaces. Cities that implement metered parking and other pricing strategies often see improved availability of spots. By treating parking as a resource with value, cities can encourage people to think twice about using it.
Excess parking can also drive up housing costs. Many cities require developers to build a specific number of parking spaces for new residential projects, regardless of demand or location. These requirements mean developers incur higher construction costs for parking spaces, which they then pass down to renters and homeowners.
In cities where parking spaces can cost thousands of dollars each, these mandates can significantly raise housing costs. By rethinking parking requirements, cities can alleviate the financial pressure on developers and reduce the cost burden on residents.
How Municipalities Are Solving Parking Problems
Cities are implementing smarter, more efficient strategies to reduce traffic, lower costs, and promote sustainability. Municipalities are finding creative solutions, from incentivizing rideshares to using advanced digital tools, to help manage parking in a way that benefits residents, businesses, and the environment.
Incentivized Rideshares
Some cities have adopted incentivized rideshares to reduce traffic congestion and parking demand. By offering perks or discounted parking fees for rideshare drivers and passengers, cities can encourage people to share rides rather than drive individually. This approach eases the demand for parking and helps to reduce emissions by cutting down on the number of cars on the road.
Digital Wayfinding Technology
Digital wayfinding technology, which provides real-time information on available parking spaces, is another tool cities use to tackle parking challenges. By helping drivers find open spaces quickly and easily, digital wayfinding reduces the need to circle searching, lowering congestion and emissions. The City of Austin has made strides in this area by implementing SmartPass, a system that improves traffic flow and makes parking easier to find.
Demand-Based Pricing
Cities are also turning to demand-based pricing for more efficient parking management. Automated Yield Management adjusts parking prices based on demand, allowing cities to promote turnover and make space available where most needed. This approach is beneficial for customers, who have a better chance of finding parking at peak times, and for city planners, who can manage congestion more effectively. Demand-based pricing can be paired with automated yield management, a feature that automatically adjusts prices to optimize parking availability.
Sustainable Parking Design
Sustainable parking design is another forward-thinking approach for cities to reduce the environmental impact of parking infrastructure.
Municipalities can lessen the negative environmental effects of parking lots and garages by implementing features like green roofing, permeable pavements, and energy-efficient lighting. These sustainable designs help reduce heat, promote water drainage, and even support urban biodiversity by creating more natural landscapes.
Data-Driven Parking Management
Finally, data-driven parking management is helping cities test assumptions and make informed decisions about parking resources. Data allows municipalities to identify patterns, adjust policies, and allocate resources based on real needs rather than outdated beliefs. For example, in the City of Santa Monica, data analysis led to reevaluating the city’s free parking approach.
Some assume that every city faces a parking crisis that demands more spaces. However, the City of Grand Rapids discovered through a data-driven approach that their crisis was one of distribution rather than availability. With data-driven decisions, they managed parking more effectively without adding new spaces.
Transform Your Parking With ParkHub
Better parking management reduces traffic, lowers pollution, and eases congestion to create cleaner, more efficient cities. Smarter parking strategies enable municipalities to transform urban spaces, making them more enjoyable for everyone.
With ParkHub, cities, event venues, and businesses have access to data-driven insights that make evaluating and enhancing their parking operations easy. ParkHub’s innovative technology helps you understand patterns, optimize resources, and improve parking management. If you’re ready to see how ParkHub can streamline your parking operations and improve efficiency, book a demo today.