![NT2673 : Adam Smith's grave, Canongate Kirkyard; © Copyright kim traynor and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence [CC BY-SA 2.0], via geograph.org.uk 1315987_3b3f47e7](http://crypticphilosopher.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/1315987_3b3f47e7-300x225.jpg)
What would Adam Smith do???
Austin might soon ditch a three-decade-old policy of requiring downtown buildings and tenant businesses to have a minimum number of parking spaces tied either to square footage or the number of condos and apartments in a building.
Supporters of the move say the minimum requirement has caused a parking surplus downtown, encouraging people to use their cars rather than bikes, buses and rail. Take away that requirement, they say, and eventually garage parking will become a more scarce (and expensive) resource, encouraging people to use alternative transportation. [Emphasis added]
I must have missed this glut of downtown parking somehow. Admittedly, I do not spend as much of the evening hours downtown as I used to, say, ten years ago. In fact, I’m not certain of the last time I went downtown at night with the intention of doing anything other than improv or a movie.
The real question is about this “alternative transportation.” What “alternative transportation”??? Yes, we have buses, and yes, we have a nascent commuter rail system, but Austin is part of the grand western American tradition of drive-your-damn-self-everywhere.
Perhaps this is the Invisible Hand at work. If we remove the ability of consumers to park downtown, then the Invisible Hand will create a shiny, efficient transportation system to get people to and fro. I hope the mayor has an Adam Smith Signal, because we need to light that thing up!
Photo credit: © Copyright kim traynor and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.