Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
Network Roundup

Free Parking Is a Terrible Investment for Transit Agencies

Is pouring millions into fancy parking garages like this the best thing for transit in the Twin Cities? Image:
Instead of charging for spaces when its park-and-ride facility reached capacity, the Minnesota Valley Transit Authority will spend $6.6 million on a garage and give those spaces away for free too. Image: MVTA
false

Does it make sense for cash-strapped transit agencies to spend millions of dollars on park-and-ride facilities and then give those parking spaces away for free?

The Minnesota Valley Transit Authority, which operates in the Minneapolis suburbs, is going to spend $6.6 million to build a 330-car garage at its Apple Valley Transit Station. Matt Steele at Streets.mn ran the numbers, and what he found was pretty illuminating:

At $6.6 million for 330 spaces, we’re spending a clean $20,000 per space. That’s about average for structured parking. If we amortize that “investment” over 30 years, we’re spending $667 per year per space. At ~255 non-holiday weekdays a year (since that’s the only time these additional spaces will be “needed”) that’s $2.61 per space per day of use. That’s more than the difference between the express fare paid by Route 477 riders and the local fare paid by walk-up transit users elsewhere in the system ($0.75 * 2 trips = $1.50/day).

And, remember, that $6.6 million doesn’t benefit all riders at AVTS, it only benefits net new riders. At a generous assumption of 1.5 riders per vehicle, we still have less than 500 new riders a day at AVTS. And those are riders that may otherwise drive to other park & rides such as Kenrick Avenue in Lakeville, or another Red Line station in Apple Valley or Lakeville.

I’m quite familiar with AVTS and its parking “problems.” Growing up in the south metro, AVTS was my station of choice when I lived at home during summers in college and commuted to internships in Downtown Minneapolis. Apple Valley was historically upset that us Lakeville residents would drive to AVTS and take “their” spots, while Lakeville wasn’t in the Transit Taxing District. Fair complaint, but it would be better solved through proper pricing of car storage.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Greater Greater Washington reports that officials at the National Institutes of Health have changed their minds after claiming last year the agency wouldn't be able to attract good scientists without more parking at its Bethesda campus -- now they've decided not to build any additional parking. Another one from GGW explains how two Washington lawmakers are trying to secure more federal dollars for bike-share systems. And Greater City Providence shows pictures of the seven homes Brown University is planning to tear down and replace with a parking lot.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Tuesday’s Headlines of Many Colors

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called rainbow crosswalks "a distraction" and called on cities to eliminate them.

July 8, 2025

Form-Based Codes Mean More Sustainable Cities

New research shows that prioritizing building "form" over their use leads to more sustainable cities.

July 8, 2025

Monday’s Headlines Are Big and Beautiful

The ginormous GOP tax and spending bill President Trump signed on July 4 will make the air dirtier, a lot of it from tailpipe emissions.

July 7, 2025

The Single Most Important Element In Creating Good Cities

A lot of U.S. cities are getting their "right of way" all wrong — and urbanists can help by getting to know this poorly-understood concept.

July 7, 2025

Reclaiming Streets from ICE with Music, Dance, Altars, Mutual Aid, Community, and Resistance

The Mariachi Plaza event was one of four held across LA. Tuesday night. The June 19 abduction of street vendor Emma de Paz from the Hollywood Home Depot was a touchstone of the Eastside gathering.

July 4, 2025

Thursday’s Headlines Are Charged Up for the Fourth

The Republican megabill is bad for the electric vehicle industry, but it could be worse.

July 3, 2025
See all posts