Cities Try To Cut Driving – Cut Parking – What Do You Think?

In theory, it would be good for us to drive less.  We'd cut down on emissions, get more exercise, cut our dependence on foreign oil, get into fewer accidents, waste less time in rush hour traffic jams . . . and basically live healthier, safer, cleaner lives.

But we're Americans, and we love our cars . . . so NONE of that seems to get us to drive less.  A new study figured out a strategy that actually COULD make people get out of their cars . . . without having to jack up gas prices into the $5-and-over range.

The study found that people drive less if it's impossible to park.  In ten different European cities, cutting down on the number of public parking spots caused a significant cut in the number of drivers.

In Amsterdam, it had the biggest effect . . . cutting parking led to a 20% drop in traffic.

So could this happen in the U.S.?  There aren't any plans to put it in place right now . . . but according to an urban planning professor at UCLA, cutting spots or raising parking prices would lead to a change in traffic here, too.

So that would also have to have an effect on where people shop or go out to eat right? If there is no where to park then why drive to that location? You’d drive to where there is parking or walk to a place that is close to where you live?

What are your thoughts?