Transit and Parking Mandates Go Together Like Peanut Butter and Tuna

It may be instructive for Cleveland to see how some other cities have handled the elimination of parking minimums. Cities where parking requirements were loosened and places were built without parking also invest in the pedestrian environment and connections to transportation options such as transit, car hailing and car share service. In fact, there may be no better way to leverage the $17 million new train station at Little Italy or $30 million Public Square upgrade.

Transit oriented developments, like Uptown in Cleveland, which was recognized for building with TOD guidelines at its core, is a shift in the current development paradigm. The economics are already looking more favorable for TOD, even in slow markets like Cleveland. There are 17 acres of vacant and underutilized land near transit stops in University Circle and those closest to the new train station in Little Italy have seen housing values increase to an average of $200,000, according to the BUILT study.

It would be a mistake to allow parking minimums to undermine the value creation of Little Italy and University Circle -- which is really an outcome of an early adoption of TOD principles and a transportation demand management plan to reduce traffic congestion. TOD that adheres to these principles requires the conversion of land that cars would occupy into more living space and better public spaces.