Tuesday’s Headlines Are Circling the Block

Indianapolis spent $6.35 million on the Broad Ripple parking garage, and it's mostly empty. Photo: Midwest Constructors LLC
Indianapolis spent $6.35 million on the Broad Ripple parking garage, and it's mostly empty. Photo: Midwest Constructors LLC
  • There could be up to 2 billion parking spaces in the U.S., which works out to seven for every car. Obviously, most of those spaces are empty most of the time, and cities are starting to get rid of parking mandates for new developments and repurpose little-used parking garages. (Wall Street Journal)
  • The federal government should give transit agencies another short-term cash infusion to give them time to figure out long-term funding in a post-COVID world. (American Prospect)
  • E-bikes are having a moment, with bikeshares transitioning away from pedal-only models and governments offering incentives to purchase them. (Government Technology)
  • Transit advocates keep using the phrase “public good” to describe public transit. But economists say it doesn’t mean what they think it means — and the distinction matters. (City Lab)
  • According to the CEO of automaker Stellantis, there may not even be enough lithium in the Earth to meet the demand for EV batteries. (Detroit News)
  • Transit cuts are tied to increased poverty and unemployment, according to a study of Clayton County, Georgia, which ended bus service for several years before joining the Metro Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority. (Sage Journals)
  • A crash that killed six construction workers in Baltimore highlighted the dangers roadside workers face. (Route Fifty)
  • Boston’s transit agency is a revolving door that needs to staff up but cannot fill positions fast enough. (Commonwealth)
  • The Times-Free Press interviewed transit consultant Jarrett Walker and civic leaders about the need for less parking and more transportation options in fast-growing Chattanooga.
  • After stopping him for jaywalking, Salt Lake City police officers held a man at gunpoint, tackled him and shocked him with a Taser. (Salt Lake Tribune)
  • A proposed Arizona law would require pedestrians and scooter riders to carry ID and identify themselves to police. (News Break)
  • A New York City nonprofit is bringing educational programming to the city’s car-free open streets. (NY Times)
  • An American tourist was ticketed for driving a Ferrari onto Florence, Italy’s famous pedestrians-only Piazza della Signora. (CNN)

ALSO ON STREETSBLOG

Most of downtown Austin's off-street parking is much more expensive than  curbside parking -- a situation that needs to change, according to a new report. Image: Nelson\Nygaard for Downtown Austin Alliance

Downtown Austin’s Parking Crunch Can Be Solved Without Adding Tons of Parking

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Cities and towns are constantly fretting about downtown parking. But what they often perceive as a "parking shortage" isn't caused by a lack of parking -- it's the result of poor management of the parking they already have. The upshot is that many cities, seeking cheap and plentiful car storage, pursue policies that make their parking and traffic problems worse, not better. Now a downtown Austin business coalition aims to chart a better course.

Parking Crater Prevention: Which Cities Are Doing It Right?

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Does your city have a parking crater problem? If so, it’s probably time for an ordinance prohibiting property owners from demolishing buildings and turning them into parking lots. In the 1990s, this type of legislation helped dramatically transform part of Denver from a surface parking wasteland into more of a real downtown. Today, other cities are […]

How Silver Spring, Maryland, Outgrew Its Parking Lots

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In healthy urban areas, people always complain that there’s not enough parking. And they still do that in Silver Spring, Maryland, says Dan Reed at Greater Greater Washington. But they’re wrong. The city’s downtown parking supply is only about 58 percent occupied on an average day. Even as the city has grown, more parking is sitting […]