Parking and Complete Streets
The connective tissue of our cities—the streets, roads, and transportation networks that enable people to move from place to place—are not exempt from the influence of parking minimums.
Transportation
The climate cost of free parking
Large parking lots and excess parking spaces put a strain on our environment, and we’re already experiencing the short- and long-term effects.
How parking influences travel behavior
The vast amount of underused parking spread across our communities has not only led to wasted space, stifled development, and higher costs—a topic discussed in a previous post in this series—but it has also encouraged more driving, even in otherwise walkable places with plenty of options for getting around. Cities, towns, and even individual business owners can seize this as an opportunity to encourage a much more balanced and efficient transportation landscape.
Your community’s free parking is costing you money
Everyone pays for free parking, whether or not they use it.
Pollution and the pavement
Our transportation system’s impact on the environment isn’t caused by tailpipe emissions alone. Protecting the natural resources we depend on requires rethinking how we travel.
We need to protect vulnerable road users, not fine them
A recent response to the traffic safety crisis in New Mexico was yet another example of the status quo approach of criminalizing individual behavior—particularly the behavior of the most vulnerable—in an effort to make the full system safer. It’s time for a better approach.
Rural transit and access to nature
A recent backpacking trip using public transit shed light for this urban dweller on the value of rural transit service.
Media alert: Local artists invite Atlantans to envision more ways to travel at free, public workshops
On Sunday, August 18, and Saturday, August 31, Atlanta artists Emma Chammah and Eddie Farr will host interactive workshops exploring the need for an improved public transportation network in Atlanta. During the free workshops, all are invited to engage with the artists’ project, Traffic Cams, which creates a real-time augmented reality experience to show what Atlanta could look like with expanded transportation options. The project is supported by Smart Growth America’s Healing Our Highways grant program.
Champion Spotlight: Orlando, Florida
This case study was written as part of our Dangerous by Design Technical Assistance program. This initiative brought together champions from across the country to advance street safety efforts through data collection and storytelling. This study was written by Laura Hardwicke, Safe Mobility Manager at the City of Orlando.
Smart growth: Try that in a small town
One major misconception we encounter in our work is that smart growth principles like Complete Streets, public transit, and mixed-use development are just for big cities and don’t apply to small towns. But over the years, we’ve seen countless examples of rural places that used these strategies to great benefit. I recently traveled to such a place–Brattleboro, Vermont.