My research was started 1 year ago http://veritaemetodo.blogspot.it/2011/02/lettera-denuncia-al-comune-di-comelico.html when I face the plague of sidewalks occupied by cars. I have ordered 2 times this book, the first by "The Book Depository" and I never seen the book and not my money go back; the second by "bargainbookstores" via www.amazon.co.uk and I was more fortunate.
The book is the most important published on the theme of parking policy. Made by an american; USA where the problem was analized firstly looked only by motorists, it becomes the problem of 21th century of urbanists, mayors, citizens and so on. Well it has 766 pages of pure enjoyment to foresee that this problem from 2003 to today was not normalized. It's logical, because the economy need it until the social cost becomes more of benefits. In 22 chapters it describes the genesis and the balance of the past decades in terms of common sense of freedom to have the maximum feasibility to move. In the origins, 1920-30 in the United States the problem was faced as a morality problem (today in my country is the same), but on the dawn of 21th century, Donald Shoup look it from a logic consequences of opportunity cost of Urban Sprawl. Example:
1. Where the common moral judgement that tend to see one value in free parking for merchants, the same point of view by Shoup is that the minimum required parking to merchants is an cost estimated to 30000$ for every parking that block many business as restaurants that cannot build parkings in historical centers.
2. Where the common moral tend to see one gain for community that have larger MALL, Shoup face the pauperization of scarce community resources, where the monetary value of land is only in output to consume it and not in input to preserve it and favour local communities, impoverished by global trade or the tendency to mortify the historical centers in favour of MALL. The major cost however is to mantain parkings, the sidewalks, the transit, the security the environment costs added.
3. Los Angeles & New York.
Well, when I think these two city, the proposal of the book, is to create a source of gain by limiting the cost of building parking, by removing the minimum required parking and with help of technology by creating the permits parking on street, for residents by a small cost, and for non resident by modular cost that focus on 85% of the occupancy rate variable throught the day and night.
The surplus gain (for municipality or mix private/municipality) advantages are:
1. The possibility of earmarking the money gained by on street parking rates, to transit service, on building sidewalks, on plant trees, installing the light point at high technology value (with solar panels, wifi, webcam for security) as well as for off-street parking.
2. Giving the value to the land, where, how in Europe the high population density create various problem, for agricolture, for living cost, or others problems; is simple dividing the sale cost of apartment from parking cost (now everyone of us pay for motorists).
Finally Donald Shoup inviting all togheter with regard to parking as a service create by man for man that must be paid & that generate tangible virtue in moral sense & in live of each one.Many aspects not mentioned, are treated on "The High Cost of Free Parking" by Donald Shop, strongly reccomended for those who think that the world is flat (also an apartment...
Ps. e.g. in my town where we have ski slopes, in winter high season, one normal day we have almost 2/300 cars parked for free anhywhere in central business district, to current prize of Belluno (capital of province) http://www.parcheggiocaffi.com/tariffe.php it mean between 2400 to 24000 euros lost to day for municipality (the same for summer in others situation) and the solution proposed in response of my letter of top is.. construction of new parkings; why I move on foot and must pay for it with more taxes or the service of parking can give me an opportunity?
gifted to library of Comelico Superiore
