from Page 47


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PT BLOG


when half the lots are empty. Sure, he mentions free parking, but he also acknowledges that he would pay half the amount but not the entire fee. It’s just too much when the supply far outweighs the demand. The lad has a point. Fees are often set by fiat from on


high, and seldom relate to the real world on the ground. How many local councils have simply picked a“number” fromthe air, most often to assist in meeting a budget shortfall, and set that number as the new parking charge? The market, supply and demand, be dammed. Cal Poly, and most other schools with a plethora of


parking space in the summer, would do well to consider adjusting their rates.Most likely they would collect the same amount of money, or more, but they would also have a much happier customer base.


I’ll Believe ItWhen I See It San Francisco’s Transportation Department recently


completed a three-year parking study and presented it to the City Council. It’s a major document that employs many of Don Shoup’s theories on parking and how it can affect the urban landscape. Don sees this as a major step for a major city. If the


council accepts the program and then allows it to proceed, then I concur. However, knowing politicians, I’m skeptical. Like all politicians, those in San Francisco see revenue


first. One tenet of the program is that money raised will be plowed back into the neighborhoods whence it came. And I quote: Invest a portion of net new revenues within


the neighborhood and involve the community in prioritizing expenditures. This is the central element of a PBD (Parking Benefit District). By pairing the PBD concept with price- based regulation, there is even greater opportunity for neigh- borhoods to reap the benefits of pricing—through improved parking reductions and a reduction in traffic volumes, as well as through funding available to invest in local transportation projects. I’m most concerned about the word “portion.” I simply


can’t see politicians giving up control of what could be a sub- stantial amount of money to the local residents or merchants and giving them the ability to “prioritize” the expenditure. My guess is that the “portion” will become smaller and smaller until it’s nonexistent. They are already mumbling about fairness of the market-based pricing to the poor – who are rich enough to own cars but not rich enough to pay to park them. Call me a cynic, but that’s how these places work. I sin-


cerely hope I’m wrong, as Baghdad by the Bay would be a tremendous laboratory for Shoupistas to study the results of their theories. The S.F. council has put off consideration so the mem-


bers can at least read the proposal.Well that’s something our representatives inWashington should consider.


You could have read these entries when they were original-


ly posted at Parking Today’s Blog – and commented, if you liked – by logging on to www.parkingtoday.com and clicking on “blog.” JVH updates the blog almost every day.


PT 52 SEPTEMBER 2009 • PARKING TODAY • www.parkingtoday.com


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