Instead of Free Parking

Instead of Free Parking BY DONALD SHOUP W E AMERICANS first learn about free parking when we play Monopoly. Players pay rent, buy houses, build hotels, or go to jail after a toss of the dice, and one toss out of forty lands us on “Free Parking.” The odds of landing on free parking increase dramatically when we begin to drive cars because—notwith- standing the experience of commuters in some large cities—American motorists park free on 99 percent of all trips. But there is no such thing as a free parking space. Someone must pay for it. If motorists don’t, then who does? Initially, developers pay for parking when they provide spaces to meet requirements in zoning ordinances. Because the required parking spaces raise the cost of development, the cost of parking is then translated into higher prices for everything else, and everyone pays for parking indirectly. Residents pay through higher prices for housing, consumers pay through higher prices for goods and services, employers pay through higher office rents. Only in our role as motorists do we not pay for parking. D o n a l d S ho u p is pr o f e ss o r of u r b a n p l a n n i n g a n d D i r e c t o r o f t h e I n s t i t u t e o f T r a n sp o r t a t i o n S t u di e s a t t h e U n iv e r s i ty o f C a l i f o r n i a , L o s A n g e l e s 9 0 09 5- 1 65 6 ( s h o u p @ u c l a . e du ) . T h i s a r t i cl e i s a b s tr a c te d f r o m a r e po r t i n t h e Jo u r na l of P l a n ni n g Ed u ca t i o n a n d R e s e a r c h , S u m me r 1 9 9 9 . A C C E S S