Cue the Invisible Hand of Capitalism!

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What would Adam Smith do???

Downtown Austin has a parking problem. Anyone who has every tried to go there at any time other than 3:00 a.m. on a Wednesday knows that parking is a challenge. (Also, I am only assuming that parking is easier in the wee hours of mid-week, but I could be wrong.) To hear some city officials and business leaders describe it, though, you would think that we have too much parking downtown, thanks to antiquated government regulations. The city is prepared to respond, too:

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.

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I like the idea, but where do I park?

02.DCPedicab.400F.NW.WDC.12May2011Several Austin City Council members want to let businesses lease parking spaces along Congress Avenue to use for sidewalk cafe space.

Austin City Council Members Chris Riley and Sheryl Cole, looking to invigorate the Congress Avenue street scene à la New York and San Francisco, say some businesses should be allowed to set up shop in city parking spaces.

Under a proposal from the pair, businesses along busy streets such as Congress Avenue would be able to lease spots from the city and use them for sidewalk cafes or retail activity. The proposal would essentially expand the city’s practice of allowing businesses to lease sidewalk space for cafes. Riley said the goal is to create more vibrant, interesting places for pedestrians and bicyclists.

I see a future in which downtown Austin is a bicycle and pedestrian utopia, and anyone wishing to frolic through its glory will have to park on the far side of Lady Bird Lake. If that day comes, you had better believe I am investing in my own pedicab.

Photo credit: 02.DCPedicab.400F.NW.WDC.12May2011 by ElvertBarnes, on Flickr.

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