Reduce Demand Rather than Increase Supply

The logic behind off-street parking requirements is simple: development increases the demand for parking, so cities require enough off-street spaces to satisfy this new demand. Off-street parking requirements thus ensure that cars will not spill over onto the neighborhood streets. This logic suggests another potential reform within the existing system of off-street parking requirements: if developers reduce parking demand, cities should allow them to provide fewer parking spaces; that is, cities can give developers the option to reduce parking demand rather than increase the parking supply. I will illustrate this “pay or pave†option with three strategies to reduce parking demand: (1) employer-paid transit passes, (2) parking cash out, and (3) car sharing.