The cost of free parking

By Todd Litman -
There are a lot of good reasons for cities to charge for public parking. It is more efficient and equitable. Urban parking facilities are a valuable resource, costing $10,000 to $50,000 to construct, with a typically annual value of $1,000 to $2,000 in land, construction and operating costs. Many vehicles are worth less than the parking spaces they occupy; underpricing parking forces people who own fewer than average vehicles to subsidize their neighbors who own more than average vehicles. Currently, most parking is provided free, financed through development costs and municipal governments, and therefore borne through mortgages, rents and taxes. Charging motorists directly of using urban parking facilities typically reduces automobile trips by about 20%; in other words, about 20% of parking facility costs, traffic congestion, accidents, energy consumption and pollution emissions results from the common practice of paying for parking indirectly rather than directly.

<a href="http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/streetsblognet/lists/streetsblognet-discussion/archive/2009/04/1239651599812">http://www.livablestreets.com/projects/streetsblognet/lists/streetsblognet-discussion/archive/2009/04/1239651599812</a>;

Note there is a lot of great links in the article above about parking and parking practices.