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Portland has eliminated residential parking requirements, your city should be next.

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Portland recently passed a landmark residential zoning reform eliminating “single-dwelling” zones by re-legalizing fourplexes (and below-market rate sixplexes) nearly everywhere in the city, and no parking at all is required for any of these new homes.

The Residential Infill Project was very controversial and took years of dedicated organizing to become a reality, but, astonishingly, the elimination of parking requirements came under relatively little scrutiny as the project made it’s way through the political process. At a public hearing in January, testimony mocking the cognitive dissonance of opponent’s simultaneous demands for affordable housing or tree preservation, but with ample parking for all, drew belly laughs from the Commissioners present. Surprisingly, among the amendments offered by the one Commissioner who ultimately opposed the project, there was no proposal to add parking requirements back.

Graphic description of Portland’s Residential Infill Project. Used by permission from Sightline Institute.

It seems to be true, as Mayor Ted Wheeler said at a hostile neighborhood meeting in May 2017: “The debate: Parking vs. Housing? It’s really over.” Portland planners may be more likely to open emails complaining about excess parking than too little of it. The story of how that happened goes back more than a decade, but the lessons learned can help you end the debate between parking and housing in your city.

A Few Steps Forward

Portland has a history of innovative parking reform. In the 1970s, Portland was one of a handful of cities which reduced parking requirements in their central business districts to combat air quality problems.  In 1975, Portland imposed a cap on the total number of parking spaces allowed Downtown, a cap that remained in place for decades until it was replaced by maximum parking ratios.

In 2002, City Council continued to push the envelope when it eliminated minimum parking requirements for apartment buildings built within 500 feet of frequent service bus lines. But a few years later, an effort by Commissioner (and future Mayor) Sam Adams to convince merchants on Portland’s trendy Hawthorne Blvd. to accept parking meters on their street was met with serious resistance, and the plans were shelved.

A Step Back

Coming out of the Great Recession, Portland saw a development boom on SE Division St., a corridor which had been somewhat leveled in anticipation of a planned freeway in the 1970s. Mid-rise apartment buildings popped up in rapid succession on this formerly sleepy semi-industrial street and none of them had any on-site parking. Similar development was happening in a few other neighborhoods in Portland, and the people living in single-dwelling zones on nearby blocks were getting more and more angry about it.

Phone calls and angry emails flooded into Commissioner’s offices. People packed neighborhood association meetings demanding that developers build parking in these projects. The city had no effective on-street parking management solutions at the ready and, despite an op-Ed from Donald Shoup himself, in 2013, City Council re-imposed minimum parking requirements for new buildings with more than 30 apartments.

Getting Organized

At the hearing to approve the new minimum parking requirements, dozens of Portlanders testified against more car parking. Advocates had an ad-hoc email list and turned out thoughtful folks to show up at City Hall, but this effort was loosely organized and the angry neighbors had the momentum.

In 2015, Tony Jordan (the author of this article), set up a website at https://pdxshoupistas.com/ and founded a dedicated parking reform advocacy organization which would eventually be called Portlanders for Parking Reform.   This group served to keep parking reformers informed about the progress of parking policy projects and opportunities to send in testimony or show up at planning commission meetings.

Lesson learned: A dedicated parking reform organization acts as a reliable press contact on parking issues. Such a group can also activate people who are sympathetic to parking reform, but not interested enough to closely follow developments at city hall.

Spreading the Word

Parking is important because it has impacts on so many aspects of city life. If someone is advocating for safer streets, climate action, abundant and affordable housing, tree preservation, active and equitable transportation, fiscal responsibility, or more vibrant business districts, then that person has a reason to support parking reforms. But, like most people, advocates for those causes have rarely considered how much parking costs, why we have so much of it, or how that relates to the issue important to them.

An example of educational materials Portlanders for Parking Reform developed to demonstrate the space parking takes from housing.`

Portland Shoupistas (later Portlanders for Parking Reform) met with leaders from these organizations like bicycle advocacy groups, tenants rights organizations, and even neighborhood associations. Educating these potential allies on the problems caused by parking requirements made it much easier to ask for their support when parking policy came back to city council.

Building a Coalition and Turning The Tide

In 2016, Portland parking reformers had another opportunity to fight parking requirements. The requirements imposed in 2013 didn’t apply to the dense Northwest Portland neighborhood, in fact, there had never been parking requirements in that part of town. Neighbors complained that this was unfair, they wanted the same requirements on buildings with 31+ apartments that applied in the rest of the city.

By this time, the housing affordability crisis affecting many American cities was hitting Portland hard and tenants around the city were organizing to fight rent increases and evictions. Portlanders for Parking Reform was able to build on the outreach to potential allies and organize critical support and testimony from tenant’s rights organizers who warned commissioners against approving any policy which would increase the cost of new housing during a housing crisis.

A crowd of parking reformers came to City Council to oppose new parking minumums.

Testimony against the new requirements was 2:1 at the hearing and the city declined to expand the requirements to NW Portland. Commissioners noted that existing parking permits in the neighborhood were “woefully underpriced” and directed the neighbors to pursue stronger parking management practices.  Today the neighborhood has a mixed meter/permit zone and residential permits cost $190 per year.

Taking the Offensive

While the city was considering new requirements in NW Portland, the city was wrapping up a multi-year Comprehensive Plan process. Portlanders for Parking Reform went on the offensive, organizing testimony to ask council to repeal the new 2013 minimum parking requirements as part of that process. In response to our efforts Mayor Charlie Hales introduced an amendment to roll back the parking requirements for projects which included affordable housing.

Graphic from Portlanders for Parking Reform used to drive testimony opposing parking requirements.

Testimony in support of this amendment came from bicycle and pedestrian advocacy organizations, members of a tenant union, a coalition of housing advocates, a progressive business association, and dozens of citizens. The amendment was adopted and the parking requirements imposed in 2013 were effectively gone.

Flipping the Script

In the years since, Portland has continued to explore and develop parking reforms. The city has approved a performance pricing policy for meters, is piloting innovative market-rate permit/meter zones, and is currently considering parking surcharges for traffic congestion and a citywide parking cash-out policy.  In March, transit proximity requirements for multi-family parking waivers were shelved and this spring the city granted schools and churches the right to build affordable housing on up to 50% of any existing parking mandated by their conditional use agreements.

Portland Planners can expect a few barbs from activists if they soft-pedal reforms.

Because advocates have educated and organized specifically around parking for years, there is a foundational base of citizens and organizations which can be counted on to support parking reforms and fight rollbacks of progressive policy. The script is flipped, for many Portlanders, more parking is not a positive community benefit and they’re willing to show up or write letters to oppose it.

Is your city next?

Do you want to see parking reform in your city? Whether you’re starting from scratch in a car-dependent suburb, or asking for improvements in a big city, the formula for effecting change is the same.

  • Educate your neighbors and advocacy organizations about the impact of parking on the issues they care about.
  • Form a club or organization with a communication strategy to inform those people about upcoming opportunities.
  • Organize, turn out testimony, pressure elected officials and bureaucrats

The Parking Reform Network exists to help you build a local organization and succeed in winning parking policy improvements in your community.  Join us and support this important work!

Join the Parking Reform Network!

Spot’s Parking Lot teaches kids just how much space parking takes

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Hi. Bridget Brown, here, author of Spot’s Parking Lot, a children’s picture book wherein a terrier considers alternative uses for parking spaces (preview available here).

Cover of Spot's Parking Lot by Bidget C. Brown artwork of a red dog's head in front of a large empty parking lot. a sofa is in one of the spots.

It’s a little weird to be writing this in the midst of a pandemic, when the concept of how much space people need is so much on our minds as we try to minimize spread of the virus.

Flipping through “Spot,” for example, there are some edits that should be made for safety. About halfway through, there are 20 people doing yoga in a parking spot, and on the next page 5 people dancing in one. For adequate social/physical distancing, the yogis would probably need at least 3 or 4 spaces (and masks if they were indoors), and the dancers might as well. 
Farther on, though there are only two people in the bus shelter, they should probably be giving each other a little more space on the bench and also masking up. 

The cafe table spacing, on the other hand, almost works, though maybe only two rather than three to a spot. And this set-up is one that we’re seeing more often in the wild these days than usual. As long as they’re not parked on with cars or trucks, these big spaces offer an opportunity to help people spread out. And maybe some of their re-uses will become permanent.

At any rate, I’ve donated copies of the book to the Parking Reform Network for new members who can use them (while supplies last): parents, grandparents, teachers, librarians, caregivers. Current members can enter a drawing for a copy when they fill out the membership survey.

Hopefully the pandemic will pass before too awfully long and we’ll be able to gather closer again. I look forward to the day, for instance, when 20-some 2nd graders can sit together cross-legged again for story time in just one space. 

Following is a  “Spot activity” to try.

Materials

  • Open floor or ground space
  • Measuring tape
  • Masking tape
  • A copy of Spot’s Parking Lot
  • Print-outs of empty spots or lots (or draw your own if you don’t have a printer)

Instructions

  1. Measure out 8-1/2 by 19 feet and apply masking tape on 3 sides of the area to represent a parking space (this can pair well with a lesson plan on inches, feet, and yards).
  2. Measure a safe distance for kids to sit within the area, depending on circumstances.
  3. Story time!
  4. Have kids draw out their own ideas of what to put in a space, or even a lot.
  5. If you’d like, submit photos of your favorite drawings to be added to an online gallery.

Parking Requirements Gave Me a Haircut

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Neighborhood-friendly developments are often made infeasible due to overly high parking requirements.

By Neil Heller with Cary Westerbeck

Neil is an urban planner at Neighborhood Workshop in Portland, Oregon and faculty of the Incremental Development Alliance. Currently sporting an 80-day shelter-in-place mullet.

Cary is an architect and small-scale developer at Westerbeck Architecture in Bothell, Washington currently taking development haircuts.

Image via Google Maps: Different development types in one image, each with different financial metrics but the same off-street parking requirements. Cary’s 4-unit small scale project at left. A large scale 80-unit project in background.

A Parking Conversation With Cary Westerbeck

I caught up with Inc Dev alum and fellow founding member of the Parking Reform Network, Cary Westerbeck, who recently completed a mixed-use 4-plex in Downtown Bothell, WA.

Having such similar interests with him, it’s fun to talk shop and learn from his lived experience.

Cary:

Small Developers are needed in cities. We play a critical role. We are the ones who can utilize a small lot, an infill lot, a weird shaped lot, and all the lots that the large developers could never build on feasibly. We can build neighborhood-friendly sized apartments and businesses on these small sites. However, the minute we must provide required, on-site minimum parking for these sites they do not pencil out, they become physically and financially infeasible.

For example, I have a 2,500 square foot lot on which I just completed a mixed-use 4-plex. The entitlements allow me to build up to five stories in this downtown zone. I could have feasibly built 14-15 dwellings and a small retail space on this site had I not been required to use most of the site for parking. As a result of the onerous parking requirements, we squeezed in the five required parking spots for the four units.

We were prevented from using the site’s “highest and best use” in both height and number of units. As I told the Development Director at my city, I could have provided an additional 12 desperately needed small apartments at my site if minimum parking requirements had not held me back. Because I could have put 16 units on the site rather than 4, the price of the land per unit would be spread over 16 units, not just four.

I have a barber on the ground floor of my building, but it was the mandated parking minimums that forced me to take a 75% haircut!

Why would a city allow development entitlements that are functionally unobtainable?

Today, “form follows parking” for small developers. Feasibility for a project must start with required on-site parking minimums, then we can see how much site is left over for productive uses. It’s crazy, but true. As an architect and small developer, the first thing we do after reviewing zoning codes is figure out how many cars we’ll have to park for our intended building’s uses and how they will fit. Invariably – always – we can’t build nearly as much productive building due to the constraints of required parking. It’s the tail that wags the dog. It seems like something is broken when building design starts with cars, rather than people, but indeed it does.

Let’s pause for a moment.

For context, Bothell is in a downtown construction boom. Giving the place credit, it is good to see so much downtown investment and willingness to accept higher densities for being an outer suburb. Not to mention, the downtown zoning standards look quite permissible.

Interestingly, there are a variety of parcel sizes in downtown Bothell that correspond to the sizes of the buildings being developed. Despite all this variety, one thing remains constant — the size of parking stalls does not adjust based on the size of the lot.

Cary built in the Downtown Neighborhood Zone (DN) so let’s put ourselves in the shoes of a small developer and explore how this plays out.

  • The median lot size found in the DN zone is 7,500 square feet (see chart below).
  • A single 9×18 foot parking stall is 234 square feet when including the drive aisle.
  • This means that the median lot size in this zone can mathematically fit 32 surface parking spaces, but we want to house people, not just cars. Plus, in comparison to parking, housing is better for the municipal tax base and it is the humans who support the local businesses that in turn strengthen the local economy.

Also, the maximum height allowed in this DN zone is 5-stories. This means that the median lot size has the development potential for (32) 1,000 sf units. Great, 32 new homes! But let’s say we want a portion of our ground floor as commercial space. This results in three less units but, hey, local business easily accessible by residents!

Chart: DN zone parcel size analysis. The rules in a city should respond to the realities on the ground

But what about the parking?

  • Each of our prospective units are 1,000 square feet (2-bedrooms).
  • Each residential unit requires 1.5 spaces per unit (234 square feet each, remember).
  • Our commercial unit requires 2.5 per 1,000 square feet. (234 square feet each, remember).

So, let’s add this up:

29 residential units x 1.5 (43.5 subtotal)
+ 9 for our commercial space
= 53 parking spaces totaling 12,285 square feet.

But wait, we only have 7,500 square feet of lot area, so what gives?

It is often assumed that zoning is about buildings. It is not. Zoning assures neighbors that parking, setbacks, and landscaping requirements will be met and then whatever is left over is where a developer can build a building.

The starry-eyed planner might suggest putting all of our required parking underground so that we get all of our units and have good urban form, but, with a price tag of $1.5M this option forces rents to be an additional $500 more dollars per month, potentially out of reach for the local market. Even with the State of Washington’s progressive minimum wage of $13.50/hour, that’s an extra 37 hours of work.

The larger-scale developments may be able to absorb the additional cost of underground parking due to the larger number of units to share in that cost. So, while the total cost of underground parking will be more in comparison, the net cost to the renter will likely be less, therefore maintaining market feasibility. Smaller-scale projects are much more sensitive to price shocks due to the limited number of units to absorb additional development costs.

The thrifty developer might want to reduce the building size and surface park everything since that’s the least expensive, but then more than 60% of the lot is paved over, also resulting in significantly less housing in the downtown area and municipal revenue for the city.

The purpose of this example was to run through the onerous and expensive outcomes that mandated parking requirements create, particularly for the small, local developer who is likely to be working on one of the 72% of lots that are below 20,000 square feet within this downtown zone.

A more sane and rational approach is to not require but allow parking in order to provide flexibility to a development project so that a workable solution can be found, allowing developers to obtain more of the parcel’s legal development entitlements, otherwise known as ‘highest and best use’. Recent studies have shown that most times, developers do build parking and averages around 0.5 spaces per unit. They do this because there is still market demand for parking spaces. This could change in the near future so having the flexibility to determine what is appropriate for the site and for the intended end-user is key to a reasonable and feasible development. The final example we can call, “the reasonable and feasible” is only made possible by applying this 0.5 spaces per unit amount. This does not mean that 0.5 is the magic number, just that having the flexibility to suit our needs creates an option that works for everyone.

Additionally, one option to make sure that those who do not want parking are not subsidizing their neighbor is to decouple any provided parking from the rents just like a building might for extra storage or laundry facilities. Just because coffee is on the ground floor of the building does not mean that everyone’s rent should be higher in order to provide free coffee to the coffee drinkers.

In closing, I felt like Cary cast a vision that is likely to resonate with what most of us want out of our downtowns and neighborhood centers. Does your city have reasonable and feasible parking policies? I’d love to hear of good examples.

Cary:

With less of each site devoted to the automobile, more of each site can be focused on humans and their needs. This will allow more homes and businesses to be accommodated within the same amount of space, increasing the feasibility of potential developments, and potentially lowering the price point of each home while supporting our increasingly important local economies.

Cary’s completed fourplex with barbershop on the ground floor.

Parking reform is a public health issue

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It can be easy to feel gloomy and maybe a bit helpless from news of the coronavirus pandemic. While we continue practicing social distancing, donating to local food banks, etc., could we also set the stage for a healthier and more equitable city, with less parking? Here are some ideas that cities are adopting:

Open streets for pedestrians

It’s difficult to abide by the 6 foot rule to follow social distancing guidelines when many sidewalks barely allow two pedestrians to pass by each other with a foot of space in between. In fact, most sidewalks themselves may be hazardous, as some studies show that people should abide by at least a 20 foot rule.

To create safe walking conditions and perhaps allow a little exercise (recommended with a mask or face covering if possible), city leaders can consider slowing cars on streets or temporarily closing them. In Oakland, an emergency measure will slow down 74 miles of streets to vehicular traffic to give pedestrians, joggers and cyclists more room for social distancing. The widespread street “closures” also allow plenty of neighborhoods throughout the city to benefit, and not single out any particular streets for more foot traffic.  Philadelphia, Denver, Minneapolis and other cities also have similar measures but on smaller scales. In Washington D.C., some parking spaces (unofficially) have been temporarily replaced by a “pandemic extended sidewalk”, giving pedestrians a lot more comfort room.

pandemic sidewalk1Photo by flickr user angela n.

Could temporary efforts such as these convince enough people that it’s worth trading a few parking spaces in exchange for more permanent pedestrian-friendly spaces? 

Support active modes of transportation

With the decline in public transit ridership due to transit workers who have tragically been infected or died from the virus, and the heightened risk of infection on buses, more people are choosing active modes such as walking and biking.

Cities around the world such as Berlin, Bogotá, Budapest and Mexico City have quickly installed new bicycle lanes. In the US, some cities have introduced street closures, but some have also introduced pop-up cycling to encourage exercising. 

Whether the pandemic will help us focus more on making streets more accessible to pedestrians and bicyclists is an open question. New York City recently revealed massive budget cuts of $1.3 billion that would have supported street safety and bicycle lane projects. These cuts have a disparate impact on the most vulnerable, the “essential workers”, who must travel long distances to work as grocery workers, hospital workers, delivery workers, etc. in the middle of this pandemic. With limited travel options, workers have a challenging dilemma: taking expensive car trips or taking the train or bus which may be packed with riders. For some populations, car ownership may actually increase as people choose cars over transit, but for the many Americans struggling to make ends meet, cars will increasingly become a financial burden. However, cities can encourage more residents to choose biking if adequate infrastructure (probably replacing parking) is put into place. In New York City, bicycles are a lifeline for those who continue commuting to hospitals, for delivery workers and others who are seeking exercise.

The pandemic has made clear that we must support the most vulnerable communities who are at a greater risk of infection, because their health is the public health. In New York City, where African Americans and Latinos have double the rate of infection as whites, having an alternative mode of transportation that is safer and low-cost could lower infection rates. A recent study showed that people (mostly minorities) that have been exposed to higher levels of particulate air pollution (from car fumes and especially highways) are more likely to die from COVID-19 infection than patients with clean air.

But if the city builds more lanes, will residents use them? According to the NYC bikeshare company Citi Bike, customers have already taken 67 percent more rides compared to the same period last year.

How else can parking reform affect public health?

By supporting more active modes of transportation (at the expense of parking spaces), we help lower air pollution, which is also a co-factor of coronavirus deaths. A Harvard study found that a small increase in exposure to particle pollution is associated with a 15% increase in the COVID-19 death rate. A high level of pollution may also explain the higher death rate in Northern Italy (12%) compared to the rest of Italy (4.5%). 

More than ever, it’s important that we take care of our mental and physical health. So it’s important to note that obesity is another cited factor of COVID-19, which may explain the higher death rate in the United States compared to other countries. In New Orleans, where the death rate is twice as high as New York City, doctors and health officials say that the higher rates of obesity, diabetes and hypertension among New Orleans residents make residents more vulnerable to the virus. While some of the data may be preliminary, obesity is also cited as a factor for above-average death rates in France and in Mexico. By investing in more safe and spacious pedestrian sidewalks and walkways (instead of prioritizing parking and streets for cars), cities can create opportunities for residents to adopt more active lifestyles instead of being constantly sedentary at home (while following social distancing guidelines), and to get fresh air (especially if indoor air quality may be poor).

We can reduce the spread of infection, improve public health and prepare us for the next pandemic, if we rethink how much parking and space we devote to cars. Already there are signs that employers are rethinking how we commute and that cities are rethinking the curb. Will cities adopt more permanent changes to their streets as a result of COVID-19? Only time will tell.

Parking Reform After Coronavirus

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Obviously, in the middle of this crisis, with lockdowns in place and ICU beds filling up, parking policy (like most things) isn’t important. We have much bigger fish to fry: maintaining a functioning health care system and supporting millions of people thrown off the payrolls are at the top of the list.

But we will make it through this, and when we do, the post-Coronavirus world is going to be very different. It’s too soon to say exactly how. But there are a few good hunches we can work on that indicate parking policy and parking reforms will still be important on the other side of the tunnel.

Empty Parking Lot

Cars aren’t going away

Whatever degree of normalcy we return to, we can be certain that plenty of people will continue to drive. Given the likely concerns about personal space and contact, it’s likely that people might choose to drive more. Even in walkable neighborhoods, people may choose to consolidate more trips to avoid going out as much, meaning that loading a car with groceries once a week might be preferable to making several trips on foot or by bicycle.

Curb management will be critical

While we can expect that many people will continue to drive, their behavior won’t be the same as it was before. More people will be picking up or dropping off goods. Folks may linger less. Who knows when mass events, movies, and concerts will resume at previous frequencies. 

Perhaps we will see more options for people to reserve business-district parking spaces. Some services might move toward appointment-only access to reduce mingling and waiting. Many restaurants are offering curb-side pickup; we have yet to see how cities will accommodate queues and high-turnover parking on restaurant rows.

Deliveries, deliveries, deliveries

Amazon and online grocery shopping are booming, accelerating trends we’ve seen for some time. Making space available for delivery trucks and other services will take on a renewed importance. Cities should consolidate and streamline delivery services however possible, perhaps by working with companies to create more cargo hubs and hygienic package pickup locations (think:generalized Amazon Lockers).

To charge or not to charge?

We’ve already seen some cities reducing parking rates and limiting enforcement. Some of this is just compassionate common sense. If a city’s goal is to keep people inside, it is counterproductive to enforce non-safety-related parking restrictions. But there are different considerations when it comes to paid on-street parking and public garages.

 Performance-based parking management means adjusting prices for demand. If demand is way down, due to a pandemic or a recession, then it makes sense for parking rates to fall as well. Unfortunately, most cities with demand based parking rates only adjust rates a few times a year. This is insufficient to manage demand in times of rapid change, like recession and recovery. Also, if there’s no mechanism to raise rates again when/if demand resumes, then cities should be wary about reducing it in the first place.

While the crisis is on-going and we are asking people to practice social distancing, efforts to bring more customers to business districts would be counter-productive. One approach cities could take would be to allow a 15 minute grace period on metered streets while demand is very low to accommodate pick-up and drop-off, but otherwise maintain parking rates as normal.

Municipal parking structures won’t pay for themselves. If they can’t be repurposed into something more helpful or productive in these times, then they should be closed or continue to charge. 

Repurposing the Right-of-Way

I hope cities are stocking up on green and red paint. 

As cities focus on the needs of connecting essential workers to jobs, this may be an opportunity to repurpose the right-of-way for bike lanes and transit priority. If we want people to maintain safe spacing we will need to expand transit service (and this is worth the investment) and give more space to people biking on busy routes. Do it while no one’s parked there!

Rethinking Commuting

Telecommuting is here to stay. Even if most office workers go back to work, the time and trouble companies will have invested in telecommuting and meeting won’t go to waste. Once your employees know that they CAN sometimes work from home productively, it will be harder to prevent them from doing so.

Cities should consider the possibility of requiring a certain percentage of the workforce to telecommute, perhaps on certain days of the week, both to manage congestion and to justify good policies like parking cash-out, parking maximums and reduced parking minimums. Rapid shifts in mode split, needed years ago and finally here, should not be taken for granted. Every effort should be used to preserve the progress made. It’s a potential silver lining to this tragedy.

Don’t give up hope

These are scary times and the future is uncertain. Take care of yourselves and don’t give up hope. 

If parking reform is something that sparks joy for you, learn more about the Parking Reform Network. When the world starts moving again, we’ll be ready to shape it in ways that provide for more equitable transportation, more affordable and abundant housing, and serious climate action.