David Seymour of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy lays bare the high financial, social, and environmental costs of free parking and minimum parking requirements.... David Seymour of the Frontier Centre for Public Policy lays bare the high financial, social, and environmental costs of free parking and minimum parking requirements for new buildings in the Montreal Gazette this week. Quoth he:

The cost of parking can be substantial. The Toronto Parking Authority estimated that the cost of providing a single parking space could be up to $40,000. U.S. researchers estimated that parking subsidies are several times the price of gas used by cars.

Perhaps the most insidious characteristic of parking regulations is their self-reinforcing nature that progressively molds the urban landscape into a gigantic parking lot. By taking up land, parking spots reduce density and make car travel more appealing, which leads to--surprise, surprise--greater demand for parking.

Read the entire article at There Is No Free parking.