Comments on: Does That Parking Space Come with Fries? http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/car-culture/does-that-parking-space-come-with-fries/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=does-that-parking-space-come-with-fries Sat, 02 Jul 2016 02:38:21 +0000 hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.2.32 By: admin http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/car-culture/does-that-parking-space-come-with-fries/#comment-166 Thu, 04 Feb 2016 20:49:36 +0000 http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/?p=192#comment-166 I’ve always thought that if I owned a bar or restaurant, I would offer discounts for people who walked or biked. Cars and parking cost so much, it seems like there should be a perk for cyclists and pedestrians!

]]> By: Carolyn heinz http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/car-culture/does-that-parking-space-come-with-fries/#comment-156 Wed, 03 Feb 2016 23:50:36 +0000 http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/?p=192#comment-156 Here in Philippines we saw a sign ‘free drink for bicycles’ I am sure they meant for the person riding bike. The idea is great in a country not known to be progressive. I am simply hoping that they don’t mean alcoholic drinks.

]]> By: Leslie Wilson http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/car-culture/does-that-parking-space-come-with-fries/#comment-88 Mon, 07 Dec 2015 17:12:23 +0000 http://www.accidentalurbanist.com/?p=192#comment-88 Great analogy.
Even if a restaurant gives away chicken sandwiches, chicken sandwiches have cost. It costs money to provide the ingredients, store ingredients, labor costs to prepare, disposal costs, etc. Whether customers are paying for the chicken sandwich or not, the expenses involved are real. It is the same with parking.

There is a high cost to free parking. Automotive habitats are being built at great expense. The average cost to build structured parking in the U.S. is $15,000 per space. And the laws that require a minimum number of parking spaces is excessive, upping the costs even further. All across the country parking lots sit mostly empty. The only time they fill-up is at end-of-year holiday shopping. Wasted infrastructure, wasted money.

And there is the cost of maintenance and repair… sweeping, painting lines, broken pavement patching, and re-paving. The constant cost of maintenance for this parking space pavement drains public and private budgets. Parking is one of the biggest subsidies that cities, counties, and states provide. The national parking subsidy is well over a billion dollars per year.

Yet people claim that the free parking is necessary, because without the free parking the stores would get no business. But whether they realize it or not, they are paying for the parking in higher cost of goods in the stores and in higher taxes… and more importantly, less people-friendly infrastructure and more inhuman environs.

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