Free parking is a human right?
11-18-19, 09:46 AM
#27
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There are people who believe that free parking should not exist in most large or even medium cities. Concrete parking lots (except for new porous concrete) contribute to flooding and other undesirable issues. Like a "carbon" tax they believe there should be a parking tax. Supposedly this would push a lot of people onto public transportation or car pooling. Who knows. I certainly don't feel like motorists have any right to free parking except on their own property and even then, their concrete driveways contribute to flood runoff for their neighbors as well.
11-18-19, 10:51 AM
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There are people who believe that free parking should not exist in most large or even medium cities. Concrete parking lots (except for new porous concrete) contribute to flooding and other undesirable issues. Like a "carbon" tax they believe there should be a parking tax. Supposedly this would push a lot of people onto public transportation or car pooling. Who knows. I certainly don't feel like motorists have any right to free parking except on their own property and even then, their concrete driveways contribute to flood runoff for their neighbors as well.
I'm one of those people. Like anyone else I hate paying for parking, but one way or the other we still pay for it. And just replacement and maintenance of parking spaces costs us plenty.
Google says there are 276 million registered vehicles, 44% of them are passenger vehicles, and claims 2 billion parking spots. 16 parking spaces per car. So 15 of the parking spots sit empty at any given time for every single car. It's objectively crazy. If you could design the whole system from scratch you'd never do it this way.
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11-18-19, 01:23 PM
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Google says there are 276 million registered vehicles, 44% of them are passenger vehicles, and claims 2 billion parking spots. 16 parking spaces per car. So 15 of the parking spots sit empty at any given time for every single car. It's objectively crazy. If you could design the whole system from scratch you'd never do it this way.
11-18-19, 02:59 PM
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Sure just like there are 300 million people in the U.S. and probably a billion or two toilets and urinals in homes, business establishments and public places, not to mention trees , bushes and diapers used for the same purpose. Who needs all that wasted porcelain, not being constantly used 24 hours/day? What's a little inconvenience, walk further and wait in line, eh?
But of course there's no real comparison to be made there, is there?
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11-18-19, 03:44 PM
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I feel like we're making progress here in NYC. The 14th St busway is now open, despite big objections and lawsuits. The bike lane on Central Park West is partly finished. People are waking up to the idea that free parking is not a right.
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11-19-19, 11:32 AM
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What is a fair rate for bike locker and bike rack usage fee?
11-19-19, 11:41 AM
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It depends on supply and demand, and those are based on time and location.
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11-19-19, 03:11 PM
#34
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When I was a kid, in the south, we never paid for parking as a rule.
As an adult, working for a landlord in New York City, I see that parking lots cost money to maintain plus that kind of land could be used for a shopping center or apartments or other money-making endeavors. I don't drive here - I use the subway - but if I did have a car, I understand better the ramifications of free parking. It's not free.
As an adult, working for a landlord in New York City, I see that parking lots cost money to maintain plus that kind of land could be used for a shopping center or apartments or other money-making endeavors. I don't drive here - I use the subway - but if I did have a car, I understand better the ramifications of free parking. It's not free.
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11-20-19, 10:05 AM
#35
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I don't believe that car-ownership is a right. And many people seem to forget that having a driver's licence is an earned priviledge that can be taken away.
Parking in this context is restricted to people with cars, so it doesn't make sense for it to be a right when nothing else car-related is.
Parking in this context is restricted to people with cars, so it doesn't make sense for it to be a right when nothing else car-related is.
11-20-19, 11:42 AM
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A few years ago, there was a bill in NJ that would have required employers to charge employees for parking. There was a lot of opposition, understandably, so it didn't pass. I'm sorry it didn't. Providing free parking hides the costs that we all pay.
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11-20-19, 12:00 PM
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Free parking is a human right
I have previously posted, including earlier on this thread about the costs of parking we incur in Boston, and the savings by cycling.
And just this morning I posted:
Not to brag,but illustrate the possibilities.
Ok, so, I'm back from Boston. Good news is, I'm still alive. Man, driving downtown is for sadistic people!! Who designed these roads???? ;-)...
And parking.... ohhh parking... Now, I get it, they don't want you to drive your car...
I guess I'll have to go back and do what I want to do in that beautiful area, cause I definitely did not this time around.
If you read this far, and haven't figured it out yet, yes, this was a rant! :-/
And parking.... ohhh parking... Now, I get it, they don't want you to drive your car...
I guess I'll have to go back and do what I want to do in that beautiful area, cause I definitely did not this time around.
If you read this far, and haven't figured it out yet, yes, this was a rant! :-/
…I mostly commute by bike (14 miles) and convenient commuter rail, and nearly always use the car only on weekends when the Commuter Rail schedule is reduced and family activities frequent.
We live in an area with tight parking restrictions. nearly entirely two-hour metered parking, except on Sundays and Holidays, from 8 AM to 6 PM; many residential-only spots with vigorous enforcement; and only one block in this high-density residental and commercial neighborhood with time-unlimited parking with a residential sticker.
We do own one deeded full-time unlimited parking space [worth about $10 K over 30 years ago]...
The Red Sox baseball Fenway Park is also in the neighborhood, and traffic is atrocious on Game Days. Nearby parking lots charge about $45, and the subway lines are always jammed up until starting time, and after the game.
We live in an area with tight parking restrictions. nearly entirely two-hour metered parking, except on Sundays and Holidays, from 8 AM to 6 PM; many residential-only spots with vigorous enforcement; and only one block in this high-density residental and commercial neighborhood with time-unlimited parking with a residential sticker.
We do own one deeded full-time unlimited parking space [worth about $10 K over 30 years ago]...
The Red Sox baseball Fenway Park is also in the neighborhood, and traffic is atrocious on Game Days. Nearby parking lots charge about $45, and the subway lines are always jammed up until starting time, and after the game.
My Professional Corporation subsidizes a parking lot fee of about that amount [>$200] per year. Since I don’t need a parking card, I’m reimbursed that amount every year.
Not really a direct "green" incentive, but I'll take it, even though I would cycle commute without it.
Not really a direct "green" incentive, but I'll take it, even though I would cycle commute without it.
Carbon Commuter?
I put my pristine carbon fiber bike away in the Wet (grimy roads) and Winter weather to protect the metallic components.
Otherwise I don’t even carry a lock because I always keep the bike with me, even on errands, and I have secure [free] indoor parking at work.
I put my pristine carbon fiber bike away in the Wet (grimy roads) and Winter weather to protect the metallic components.
Otherwise I don’t even carry a lock because I always keep the bike with me, even on errands, and I have secure [free] indoor parking at work.
Not to brag,but illustrate the possibilities.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 11-20-19 at 12:42 PM.
11-20-19, 01:21 PM
#38
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So, The Boston Globe is behind a paywall, but the paywall has a one or two article exception per 45 days.
That's THEIR choice.
If you rarely read the Boston Globe, that is OK. You can read the free article below.
But if you've already read your quota of articles, you have two choices.
One, pay for it.
But if you don't want to pay for it, which is a perfectly rational choice, please don't complain here that it's behind a paywall. I know! See above! Just move along, nothing for you to see here. Can we avoid yet another paywall thread just one time?
For the rest of you, here's a great series by The Spotlight Team - yes, like the movie Spotlight team.
Key pull quote, sometimes the folks at MIT can be smart:
Commentary on the series at CommonWealth Magazine (not behind a paywall)
-mr. bill
That's THEIR choice.
If you rarely read the Boston Globe, that is OK. You can read the free article below.
But if you've already read your quota of articles, you have two choices.
One, pay for it.
But if you don't want to pay for it, which is a perfectly rational choice, please don't complain here that it's behind a paywall. I know! See above! Just move along, nothing for you to see here. Can we avoid yet another paywall thread just one time?
For the rest of you, here's a great series by The Spotlight Team - yes, like the movie Spotlight team.
Key pull quote, sometimes the folks at MIT can be smart:
Originally Posted by Boston Globe Spotlight Team
[MIT's revised] 2016 [commuting] policy’s central feature was to give around 11,000 employees unlimited free subway and bus rides through a convenient CharlieCard chip embedded in their MIT ID cards — double an earlier transit discount. MIT also upped its commuter-rail subsidy to 60 percent and covered half the cost of parking at MBTA stations. And in a key move, the university largely eliminated its yearly parking permits in favor of a new system: Pay $10 a day until you reach $1,760, an annual cap after which parking is free.
MIT predicted that employees who feel that daily financial pinch would drive less, and without a flat fee, they wouldn’t be tempted to drive more often to get their money’s worth. It was a “nudge” that behavioral economists suggest can influence behavior.
And it did.
In the two years after MIT launched the program, it saw an approximately 12 percent drop in parking at its gated facilities. The university was able to raze a parking garage to make way for a much-needed 450-bed dorm. And according to a 2018 MIT study, MBTA revenues rose as MIT employee ridership increased about 10 percent. The policy costs the university $2 million more per year. “It’s basically a win for everybody,” said John Attanucci, a research associate at the MIT Transit Lab.
MIT predicted that employees who feel that daily financial pinch would drive less, and without a flat fee, they wouldn’t be tempted to drive more often to get their money’s worth. It was a “nudge” that behavioral economists suggest can influence behavior.
And it did.
In the two years after MIT launched the program, it saw an approximately 12 percent drop in parking at its gated facilities. The university was able to raze a parking garage to make way for a much-needed 450-bed dorm. And according to a 2018 MIT study, MBTA revenues rose as MIT employee ridership increased about 10 percent. The policy costs the university $2 million more per year. “It’s basically a win for everybody,” said John Attanucci, a research associate at the MIT Transit Lab.
-mr. bill
Last edited by mr_bill; 11-20-19 at 02:01 PM.
11-20-19, 04:27 PM
#39
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Wow, a dorm is a lot more useful than parking! Great experiment.
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11-20-19, 05:14 PM
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As a long time city resident I can assure you that the residents of that building do not, for the most part, park on CPW. It's the residents of more modest means (but not by much, though) that live on the side streets that make up 90% of the parking on CPW. But I feel for them, I used to live on the upper westside and parking has always been a nightmare around there. Awesome place to live otherwise, but in terms of parking . . . The Horror.
11-20-19, 07:15 PM
#41
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In the land of capitalism, the price of something is determined by supply and demand. So wouldn't the demand of free-parking be considered as evil socialism?
11-20-19, 07:28 PM
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