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One more of these.
Find a New Place to Park
I was reading the newspaper the other day when I came across an article on parking in downtown Vancouver. Of course, the first thing I thought was that they were trying to reduce congestion in the city and trying to reduce pollution from commuters across the Lower Mainland. By limiting the amount of on street parking, city officials were also on the way towards taking a bite out of urban sprawl. The underlying effect is clear. When it is tougher to find affordable parking in Vancouver, the cost of the commute rises. When the cost of the commute rises, people are less willing to live further from their job. The difference in parking costs of $10/day adds up to $200/month and significantly narrows the gap between suburb and city rent costs.
Now, how sustainable is this solution. Once again, there is no doubt that the opportunity is there. Tens of thousands of people a day drive into Vancouver for work and need a place to park. If the demand for parking outpaces supply even greater, costs will rise and people will look for alternatives. The people envolved in this solution is another important factor. Government officials must be interested in using this solution or it will go nowhere. A good thing is that costs are extremely minimal.
There are some negatives to using this solution to fight urban sprawl. While increased parking costs may get people off the road, many will simply use other transportation alternatives. Also, when parking spaces are lost, people are unable to patronize businesses. Fearing a lack of customers, many businesses may decide to locate out of the city, increasing the effects of urban sprawl.
There is no doubt that this solution has the potential to reduce urban sprawl, but it must be implemented in combination with several other options.
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