this post was submitted on 13 Jul 2025
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Whats evil about free parking?
There's a book titled "The High Cost of Free Parking". Here's an article about it
https://usa.streetsblog.org/2015/03/30/donald-shoup-an-appreciation#.VRyCepJPGEY.twitter
Article argues that money spent is not recovered properly and highly subsidized for the users.
By that logic anything that gives more than it takes like road, infra, etc all are not good.
I think the whole point of having these regulations is to take side of people who use the space and regulate the private companies who would try to maximize profits while giving bare minimum required to keep things running.
It also argues that municipalities create far too much parking space, reducing the amount of useable area in cities. This is one big reason why most US and Canadian city centers are dying, as more downtown plots are dedicated to parking, and new plots need a crazy amount parking.
New constructions all have huge parking lots like big box stores and fast food islands, surrounded by a sea of pavement. The lower density reduces propery taxes (as they're usually calculated by the number of properties, not the used land area), and increases the need for a vehicle to reach locations.
Free parking in general may help to keep things accessible to everyone (with a car), but the amount of parking is choking everyone out and increasing reliance on car manufacturers and roadwork companies.