PT BLOG I was talking to someone the other


day about the possibilities of the IPI and NPA joining forces and was told in no uncertain terms that this parking tax issue was a big one between the two groups. The NPA would be opposed to parking taxes, and the municipal mem- bers of the IPI would be the ones tasked with imposing the tax on the parking owner . Our discussion centered on the


fact that we knew many municipal parking folks who weren't too happy with being forced to collect this tax, since it didn't go into the parking pro- gram, but usually just disappeared into the general fund. However, I could see where the two groups might be on dif- ferent sides of the same issue in this, and in perhaps other similar cases. Nevertheless, the idea of taxing taxes is ludicrous.


City Employees Should Pay for Parking (Posted Jan. 24) The blog below on Oakland, CA,


is reinforced by this one on Kitchener, Canada. It’s almost a duplicate situa- tion. The city is losing tons of money giving away parking to city employees and is going to stop doing it. If the employee is required to use their car as a part of their job (say, a building inspector), then the city will pick up the parking. Of course, being Canadians, they


are taking a more green view of the issue. Why should the city subsidize parking when at the same time they are trying to get people out of their cars and use public transportation? Good point. Of course, a lot of this in the US


has to do with the fact that "free" park- ing is really a perk and should be charged as income and the IRS is catching up on this program. You are going to see more and


more of this across the fruited plain. Sorry, your honor, your parking fee is due.And rightly so.


Free Parking for City Workers Costs Oakland $400,000 Per Year (Posted Jan. 20) It seems the city of Oakland --


actually a rather well run municipality,


by California standards) has about 230 spaces that it gives rent-free to city workers. If those spaces were rented to local citizens, they would generate about $400,000. This would mean that libraries could be kept open, rec cen- ters not closed, etc. Try as they might, they could find


only about 30 spaces that they could claw back and rent out. The remaining 200 city employees were just too high on the totem pole to pay for their park- ing. Free parking is truly an oxymoron in Oakland.


Toxic Goo fromParking Lots Causes ‘GuessWhat?’ (Posted Jan. 20) It's been pointed out to me that


coal-tar sealant, used in some drive- ways and parking lots to seal the asphalt, can break down into a powder, be tracked into homes, and then ingest- ed by children playing on the floor. If you want another thing to worry


about, consider this: As reported on MSNBC (www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34809699/ns /us_news-environment) by Investi- gateWest, a nonprofit news organiza- tion, a recent study sees such sealant dust as a cancer risk. So what do we do with things like


this one? One child in 10,000 may develop cancer because of this dust. Not a big deal, you say.Well, frankly, it is if it's your child ... or anyone else's, for that matter. Correspondent Mark is concerned


that in a few years there will be lawyers advertising on TV to get people to sign up in class action law suits because their apartments were near a parking lot that may or may not have been sealed sometime with coal tar. Yikes – and you thought it was the tobacco and asbestos industries that were at risk. But how do we deal with these dis-


coveries? No one put coal tar on park- ing lots knowing they might cause can- cer. In fact, coal tar is used for some medicinal purposes (to treat psoriasis and other skin diseases, I think). But, then, you aren't eating it, just layering it on.


Scientist wife Robyn says that 1 in


10,000 is a high number as these things go. But then, it does depend on the dose. If you drink enough water, it can kill you, too.


MARCH 2010 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com 47 How do we, as a society, handle these


revelations? Immediately start tearing up driveways and parking lots? Sue everyone in sight – chemical companies, lot own- ers, building owners, etc.? Put up signs saying that if you walk on this street, you could be tracking cancer-causing stuff into your house? It seems to me that a modicum of


common sense is called for here. Assum- ing the investigative article is correct, then we stop sealing with this stuff. Relatively quickly, the problem will simply go away. Maybe we tell folks living near these lots to wipe their feet before going inside and to wash their floors every so often. In a few years, the problem will be no more. My guess is that this will never hap-


pen; lawyers will become involved and then all bets are off.


Federal Buys Sirit (Posted Jan. 20) I got word that Federal Signal, owner


of Federal APD, has purchased Sirit Inc. in Canada. As you may know, Sirit makes


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