Op-Ed Examines the High Cost of Free Parking…in Houston

"Perhaps some Houstonians feel that free, easy parking adjacent to every building that we're trying to access is an inherently essential feature of Houston's quality of life. The mandatory on-site parking requirements, one of the city's most intrusive land-use regulations, would seem to reflect this viewpoint," begins an op-ed by Steve Spillette.

Spillette speculates that a perceived lack of parking will figure heavily in the city's upcoming mayoral election, as citizens push for "the ideal of easy-and-free parking anywhere we want to go, while no one else can park on our own street except me and my neighbors."

The argument that's neglected by such conversations, according to Spillette, are prices paid for the city's vast supply of parking, including excessive and polluted stormwater runoff, heat islands, reduced walkability, and financial burden.

The op-ed goes on to focus in more specific detail on the negative impacts of parking on walking as a means of mobility and the financial burden of excessive and poorly located parking.