Book Report: The High Cost of Free Parking

If you would like a free copy of the new paperback edition of "The High Cost of Free Parking" you may get one from me, but you have to write a review of the book for this blog.

First one to respond in the affirmative in the comments gets the book (which you have to pick up from my house).

Comments

[Charlie]

For the love of pete, don't tempt me like that

[Andrew]

I'll write the review!

[Miles Bader]

Can you post a link to some more info about the book ...?

[your own description, or amazon, etc...]

Thanks

[washcycle]

Sure

Try this

[washcycle]

Andrew wins btw.

[Ren]

I love how if you take a canvas bag to many grocery stores, you get a (small) refund, but if you ride your bicycle instead of taking up space in their overtaxed but still free parking lots you get nothing. Whole Foods in Clarendon with its cars backed up down Clarendon Blvd. comes to mind. Cross subsidization.

[Greenbelt]

I haven't read the book, but did read a nice feature in the libertarian Cato Institute website:
http://www.cato-unbound.org/2011/04/04/donald-shoup/free-parking-or-free-markets/print/

Obviously minimum parking requirements have turned entire suburban rings into ugly, dirty, parking lot dominated, inaccesible hellscapes.

In some urban areas, I'm OK with the book's idea of market-priced curbside parking with revenue going to local businesses (especially in run down or neglected areas).

But in downtown DC, I think lane space is so precious that it should be reserved for transportation in most cases. I think we should just convert some curbside parking -- at least on one side of the street -- into all-traffic lanes, bike tracks, and expanded sidewalks. I'd be happy with a 1-1-1 ratio: For every curbside parking lane taken out, convert one to an all-traffic lane, one to a bike track, and one to expanded sidewalk.

In Montreal, the streets that have replaced curbside parking with cycletracks and expanded sidewalks on one side seem to be more vibrant and economically prosperous for shops anyways -- this would be a good deal for groundlevel stores and restaurants I think.

And blocking perfectly good transportation lanes with parked cars is just a waste of a scarce social resource and a recipe for unnecessary congestion, in my opinion.

[CyclingFool]

I must be ready for rgad school. I actually wanted to volunteer to do this. Sadly I missed out. Looking forward to the review.

[Blue-eyed Devil]

Ren, not only that, but that WholeFoods isn't exactly bike-friendly. The poor excuse for a rack they'll point you to is situated in an out of the way, afterthought corner of the parking lot and they grumble if you park anywhere else, like out front.

Of course, the county has a rack on the other side. Me, I lock up out front anyway, making sure I don't block pedestrian spaces, especially the wheelchair ramps, which is really the only reason why bikes should be prohibited there, assuming there was decent alternative space.

Damn, I wanted to read and review that book!