When you find an empty parking space with no meter, the space seems free. But parking spaces are expensive. They are paid for with a lot of government money and hidden costs. The average cost of each new on-street parking space is $1,750; on average, each space in a parking garage costs $15,000; and underground parking costs between $30,000 and $50,000 per space. Annual maintenance for each parking space ranges between $200 and $800 per space, and additional costs include debt service, staffing, security, insurance and snow removal.
Bangor’s street parking and parking garages are very expensive, and they largely are paid for by the city’s taxpayers. But the benefits of free or low-cost parking go to the few people who regularly use it. The Bangor Parking Advisory Committee recently scrapped its plan to charge drivers for parking downtown. The plan would have shifted the cost burden to those who use this space the most and would have been an improvement from a one-hour limit. But charging $1 per hour wasn’t the right price, and the committee’s reforms weren’t going far enough.
Downtown parking is a scarce resource that can have a high demand, so it makes sense to charge for parking. But demand for downtown parking fluctuates from block to block, from one hour to the next, from one day to the next, and so should the cost of parking. The city should use congestion pricing to adjust the price of parking to reflect this shifting demand. There may be times when few people want to visit downtown, so the right price might be less than $1 per hour — it might be free. But there may be times when a lot of people want to park downtown, so the right price might be more than $1.
By charging the right price, the city can ensure that there always will be at least one empty spot on each block allowing drivers to quickly find a space. It also returns revenue to the city, encourages people to use other forms of transit and ensures that spaces are never too expensive nor too cheap.
The money generated from charging for city parking should be used to make improvements in the area that generated the revenue. In this case, the city should make improvements to downtown that could include bike lanes, bike racks, sidewalk repairs and enhancements, better policing, free Wi-Fi and city beautification, such as trees, planters or lamp posts. If people can see the revenue work where it is generated, it will assuage the fears of business owners and encourage customers to visit.
The Parking Advisory Committee’s plan wouldn’t have gone far enough, though. Currently, Bangor requires all new construction to include parking spaces. New retail and office buildings must have one space per 300 square feet, and new residential units must have 1.5 spaces per unit. These parking minimums amount to a mandatory hidden government tax paid in the form of higher mortgages and higher costs for retail goods and services.
The city should end these parking minimums because they encourage driving that fragments the city, increases congestion, lengthens transportation times and distances, and increases the cost of government services and utilities. Let businesses determine the number of spaces they need. If a property owner determines that fewer spaces will lower the cost of their building and save them and their customers money, then so be it. It will save everyone money and reduce car dependence in the city.
Free parking makes sense if the economic benefits outweigh the costs, but there is no indication this is true. Cars take up a lot of space, and that space cannot be used for other purposes. As car usage increases, the other usages that this transportation is intended to support, such as residences and businesses, decline.
One study found cities that had significantly increased parking since 1980 had lower median incomes, lower populations, fewer in-city jobs and much higher rates of driving, while cities that set strong parking limits showed the opposite trends. Another study found that Hartford, Connecticut, is losing $1,200 in tax revenue for each parking space in that city every year. At the very least this suggests that parking doesn’t help businesses or municipalities.
Residents and councilors who would like to know more about congestion pricing and the high cost of parking can read “ The High Cost of Free Parking” by Donald Shoup. Copies are available in the University of Southern Maine and University of Maine at Augusta libraries.
Ian Maddaus is a documentary filmmaker based in Orono.