Pave paradise … how parking lots are choking our cities and economy - Financial Post

Episode 113 of Down to Business podcast

Author of the article:

Gabriel Friedman

Publishing date:

Aug 11, 2021  •  12 minutes ago  •  1 minute read  •  Join the conversation

Thanks to outdated mandatory parking requirements, most cities have way more mandated parking than they need and it adds up to a huge impact on our economy, even affecting housing prices. Photo by Postmedia

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Parking for vehicles takes up an enormous amount of space on the side of roads, through garages and lots in front of stores and underneath buildings — and it adds up to a huge impact on our economy, even affecting housing prices.

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This week on Down to Business, Ashley Salvador, the founder of the Canada Backyard Housing Association in Edmonton, came on the show to discuss parking.

The city of Edmonton recently eliminated a rule that forces businesses, homeowners and property developers to build a minimum amount of parking for every property. Most North American cities have this rule and the end result, Salvador said, is more parking than we need.

As a result, Salvador has estimated that Edmonton has 50 per cent more parking than it needs, which means about $200 million in pavement just sits there unused most of the time. She talked about how this policy evolved, its economic ramifications and why change may be on the horizon after years of stasis. As always the interview has been edited for clarity and brevity.

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Pave paradise … how parking lots are choking our cities and economy - Financial Post
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