A free parking spot is one of life’s little perks, and at one free lot, customers told us at a time when the price of everything seems to be going up, free parking is something they can still hang onto.
But in California, environmentalists say all that free parking comes at too high a cost- in greenhouse gas emissions. Environmentalists say if people drove less, there would be an environmental benefit.
With the support of green groups, the state senate passed a plan offering cities and counties financial incentives to slash the number of free parking spaces on the street and in government-owned lots, and to reduce the number of free spaces businesses are required to provide.
Sponsors suggest that will encourage people to walk, take the bus or even ride a bike. Critics say it’s just another example of Sacramento Democrats’ far left agenda.
“This is step one – sort of a camel’s nose under the tent, if you will, to do away with free parking and force people to take mass transit, which currently in many parts of the state, simply does not exist,” says State Senator Tom Harmon (R-Huntington Beach, Calif.).
While the plan might help reduce CO2 emissions, business owners like Stephanie Nishikawa worry it will dissuade customers who won’t want to pay to park at her stationary store.
“I don’t want them to feel like they can’t come in and see the pretty stuff that’s in here. They might have to go shopping online, and that would kill me,” she says.
The bill’s sponsor, State Senator Alan Lowenthal (D-Long Beach, Calif.), insists the measure is pro-business.
“There is no problem with so much free parking,” he says. “The problem is that we over-regulate sometimes, to force massive amounts of parking… we could do less of that.”
The bill now heads to the State Assembly, where even Senator Lowenthal is pessimistic about it’s chances. He does hope the effort will get the conversation started about the hidden costs of free parking. But here in car-loving California, the conversation.. may be a short one.