Tuesday, March 17, 2009

Calgary City Transit Parking Fees

We've talked about parking fees in other posts, and the fact remains that increasing (or in this case implementing) parking fees is one of the easiest ways for civic leaders to reduce the number of cars in a given area. Easiest, not necessarily the best, and easy because essentially parking fees can be equated to a tax on the poor. Since the poor always outnumber the rich, they tend to lose out when the laws of supply and demand are put on objects of universal desire.

What makes the city's plan less than altruistic is the fact that the parking fees were started in the suburban LRT Stations, farthest from the city's core. Despite attempts to redirect city traffic through the city's 1990s GoPlan, the vast majority of traffic goes from the periphery to the core. The suburbs already force Calgarians to sacrifice distance and time for affordable housing, now they are being asked to endure their monthly transit fees doubled. Of course, the rationale is that those who would need to park daily, would be encouraged to take the bus to the station - provided transit ran effective services to their neighbourhood.

No comments:

Powered By Blogger