No, but seriously. Not just for us commuters, but for retail and housing developers as well, because it adds to their costs — and therefore makes things more expensive for the rest of us.
In a story from the New Haven Independent this week, developers at a panel discussion cited minimum parking requirements as one of their main frustrations with doing business in cities. Hartford businesses have this problem, too — in fact, in a study done by the city, employers there said that they would hire more people if there was more parking in the city! Hard to see parking solving the recession for us…but every little bit counts, right?
It’s hard to see New Haven lowering minimum parking requirements anytime soon, given that there’s few other ways to get around Connecticut. In places like Boston, Washington, D.C., and New York — where robust mass transit exists — the discussion is coming along much more quickly. Some housing developers may even ask their future tenants to commit to not having a car.
I’d love to not have a car. Not only is parking not an issue — I can also never get towed.