Is Removing On-Street Parking a Good Idea?

By Dom Nozzi

Let’s be careful about the common suggestion (usually from bicycling advocates) that we remove on-street parking.

One important ingredient for cities to be more healthy and vital is streets lined with (priced) on-street parking. That sort of parking is pro-city, because it promotes small-scale retail, slower car speeds, and a more compact layout of the town center.

On-street parking is therefore pro-walking, pro-bicycling, and pro-transit.

What is toxic to cities, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit is (free) OFF-street parking — as Donald Shoup shows so well. Our efforts need to focus on reducing off-street parking (by eliminating parking requirements for new development and revising our tax structure, among other tools). The more off-street parking we remove and the more on-street parking we add, the better a city will be.