I just read an article posted by Astrid over in parknews.biz from the “Economist” that breathlessly proclaimed that we were in a ‘Parkageddon.’ Cities were clogged by cars parking everywhere, destroying civic life as we know it.
Seems the writer somehow tripped onto the idea that parking was too cheap, and that some places it is free. This he says, causes too much use of vehicles and if only we could charge market rates, people would get out of their cars and take public transportation. Don Shoup call your office.
The lengthy piece continues bringing up self driving vehicles and how they will solve the parking issues by describing a family who used autonomous cars “Starting in the morning, one car could take a child to school, a city worker to his office, a student to her lecture” but I might add mom to her job. So that family would use four cars each morning. But then they would have to park somewhere during the day until they were needed to return that family to the bosom of its home.
As the Economist clutched its pearls and headed for the fainting couch, I am reminded that The Donald (Shoup that is) has been preaching about this issue for what, a decade. (Actually a dozen years.) It’s like this issue suddenly arose where no issue existed before.
I wonder sometimes about reporters and editors. Do they live in silos and never venture out into the world? Do they drive, park, and actually participate in what one might call ‘real life?’ One would think they might notice that cars are everywhere and it costs money to park them, but not really that much. Well this is the group that brings us “fake news” and stories about being kidnapped by aliens. Why am I surprised they missed parkageddon?
JVH
