We've got more parking than we need

In the wake of much public and media outcry since the release of Auckland Transport's parking strategy, MRCagney's Scott Ebbett contends that we must reset our approach to parking, we must do things differently, and most critically, we need to break up with free parking.

Over 500 years ago, Leonardo Da Vinci created maps of several Italian cities. One thing that stands out in Leonardo's maps is the dense network of streets and buildings.

Above: Leonardo's map of Imola (1502)

Nowadays, with the benefit of aerial photography, if you look at our cities from above, something hugely different stands out – the massive amount of land dedicated to parking private vehicles.

It's got so out of hand that, in some cases, more land is used for parking than for the buildings themselves. Take, for example, Westfield Mall in Manukau. The building footprint is around 47,000 square meters, while the car park that serves it is some 60,000 square meters. Something is seriously out of order!

Professor Donald Shoup, a global authority on parking, suggests that many cities worldwide dedicate more land to storing cars than they do for housing people. So, it seems sensible to ask how we got to this point? How did storing private cars become a greater priority for us than housing people?

In short, it has been an incremental accumulation of rules, regulations, policies, and decisions over decades that has steadily pushed parking supply upwards, often without most of us realising it.

This doesn't seem right amid a housing crisis and record numbers of people priced out of the housing market. Does it?

Let's look at Auckland as an example; around 600,000 on-street parking spaces are taking up over 7 million square meters of space – equivalent in area to the entire town of Warkworth, which is home to over 6,000 people.

Remarkably ninety-eight per cent of this parking is given away for free while costing ratepayers huge sums every year in maintenance.

Yet when our public bodies suggest charging for or removing parking (as they are currently proposing in Auckland), the resulting outrage makes it straight onto the front page. Why is this? Simply put, it's hard to convince people to change their entrenched behaviours. People don't want to walk a little further or, heaven forbid, pay for their exclusive use of public space when they rarely have before.

We've all seen the headlines that follow these suggestions, "death to retailers" and the "demise of our town centre" they'll cry. Yet the evidence shows this isn't the case.

Above: A typical Auckland city centre street awash with parking

So, here's why I think we should reset our approach to parking, why we must do things differently, and most critically, why we need to break up with free parking.

Above: Car parks transformed into vibrant outdoor dining spaces

It's getting in the way of our aspirations:

Most larger councils across the country have strategic documents outlining their commitment to climate change, shifting to more sustainable transport modes, and creating thriving and vibrant centres. Well, continuing to keep massive amounts of free or underpriced public parking works directly against these goals.

For example, research from the University of Connecticut found

"compelling evidence that parking provision is a cause of citywide automobile use."

In short, it's incredibly challenging to get people on the bus, to walk, or get on their bikes when they can park their car wherever they like for low or no cost. For travel behaviour change, public transport and cycle lanes are carrots; parking management is the stick.

?We are being left behind:

Ask people to name their favourite urban places.

How many mention ones that are blighted by massive amounts of parking and associated traffic? Not many, if any.

Cities across Europe, Asia and North America are approaching this with a fresh set of eyes by first deciding what kind of public places they want and then applying transport planning and urban design moves to achieve that. Looking at things this way leads to massive changes, with hundreds and sometimes thousands of parking spaces removed to make way for other uses that support that type of place. Paris alone is removing over 100,000 on-street parking spaces.

What's clear is that space is at a premium in our towns and cities and becoming more so as development intensifies. Increasingly we must be looking at whether parking is the best and most beneficial use of land.

Parking spaces have lots of other potential uses. That can include creating wider footpaths for walkers or prioritising people on bikes, public transport, outdoor dining for local cafes, or more street trees.

This is what cities like Paris, San Francisco and Milan are doing. These are the places we should want to emulate.

Imagine what we could achieve if those 600,000 on-street parking spaces in Auckland became 500,000? Or 400,000? I'd argue it would create a greener, more livable, and people-focused city.

We need to embrace the opportunities:

Don't get me wrong; I'm not saying all parking is bad. Obviously, it is still vital for those that must drive. All I'm suggesting is that it's a privilege rather than a right, and users who get the benefit should pay its true cost. Better parking management will help those that need to drive find a space more easily.

Across Aotearoa, we need to clearly understand the connection between parking supply and management and the vision for the towns and cities. Then let's have an open conversation about the steps to achieve that vision, which I believe will require a significant reduction in parking.

The rest of the world is moving; let's seize our opportunity; so we aren't left behind!

Connect with Scott on LinkedIn.