By John Van Horn
Editor’s note: Donald Shoup, the University of California at Los Angeles urban planning professor known for his calls for parking reform, died February 6, 2025, at the age of 86.
When asked to describe himself, Don said he was a "parking evangelist." He spent his time speaking about his ideas concerning how “free parking” and parking requirements were basically destroying urban life. He was happy to speak to Rotary Clubs, city councils, planning commissions — whoever would listen.
His name, as the “go-to” person with questions about parking, took off in 2005 with the publication of his book “The High Cost of Free Parking.” Unlike most tomes written by a university professor, it is fun to read. It put him well on his path to becoming a “parking rock star.”
His fame spread past the academic community, and he developed a following. Those who embraced his concepts of market-based on-street pricing, setting prices so that 15% of the spaces on a block face were open, and plowing the money collected back into the streetscapes from which it came became known as “Shoupistas.” Parking planners, students, mayors, and city council members wore the title with pride.
As his parking fame grew, Don embraced his “rock star” status to the point of signing many informal missives “Shoup Dogg.” The moniker became so popular that his web side took on the name, Shoupdogg.com.
As his ideas became more widespread, and a few cities started following his suggestions, many professionals in the parking industry found his ideas simplistic, maintaining that he picked his facts and chose data to fit his ideas. Their position was that “one size did not fit all.”
One of the key issues concerned his statement that 30% of all urban traffic resulted from vehicles looking for parking. This was a corollary to his recommendation to use pricing to keep at least one space open on a block face. In this way, the 30% of the cars would not have to search for parking and so could immediately park, thus removing 30% of the traffic.
Although many consultants attempted to replicate Don’s finding regarding the 30% figure, they found that the percentages of traffic caused by vehicles looking for parking ranged from 10% to more than 60%. However, because Shoup Dogg published the number in his book, many cities used it as justification for implementing the rock star’s methods.
The problem, of course, is that cities often did not put in place all of Don’s suggestions. As a result, in many cases those expecting a 30% decrease in traffic were disappointed. That didn’t stop the Shoup Dogg from soldiering on. Shoupistas, however, felt that he had earned his rock star status, as it dovetailed with their anti-car goals for high-density housing and rapid transit.
At one of our many lunches at the UCLA faculty center, I asked Don about his 30% number. After a rather long discussion, Don said, “John, why are people so concerned about the 30%? It’s just a number in a book.”
Shoup Dogg was a gentleman, self-deprecating, soft spoken, his comments filled with wry humor. I never heard him speak negatively of an individual.
John Van Horn is the editor emeritus of Parking Today. He can be reached at jvh@parkingtoday.com.
