Parking, in any city in the United States, is a contentious issue. After all, so much of the American city has been designed around the use and proliferation of the personal automobile. Even if the typical American City was to increase mass-transit, it would still need to figure out a way to accommodate personal vehicles. But how can a city balance parking – static lots, street spaces, or garages – with other forms of economic development or housing? Every foot of parking is one less foot for housing, retail, office space, or manufacturing, whether that parking is a public garage or a private lot.

In a two-part series, The Research Bureau aims to examine parking within Worcester. This first installment, Feeding the Meter, will look at data regarding the usage of City-owned on- and off- street parking; i.e., it will describe parking as it exists today within Worcester. Part Two, which will be released next week, will describe the history of downtown parking since the 1920s in Worcester, and focus largely on parking minimums required by zoning for new development. Part Two, Public Par(king): Worcester's Past, Present, and Future of Parking, will conclude with questions and considerations from the Bureau on the future of parking in the City.

While reading Part One, readers should keep in mind the following: building parking is expensive. It is expensive to construct and to maintain, of course; and increasing the amount of parking that is available in a city has high opportunity costs. Moreover, parking has environmental costs: an increase in impervious surface that can increase flood risk, and large, often dark, areas that can serve to create or exacerbate urban heat islands (areas that absorb sunlight and raise ambient air temperature). However, in places dependent on vehicle commuting, or in places just starting a transition to more sustainable forms of transit, the costs of not having parking can be high as well. It is worthwhile to examine the issue in depth if we want to fully appreciate where we put our cars.

Read Feeding the Meter: Public Parking Usage in Worcester.

This report is supported by a grant from the Barr Foundation.

The opinions expressed in this report do not necessarily reflect the views of the Barr Foundation.