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One of the most controversial consequences of Portland鈥檚 growth and subsequent redevelopment of many inner-city neighborhoods over the last 10 years has been the impact on parking. This is a real hot-button issue that affects all of us, and one of the least understood components of city planning. As is true with the related issue of increasing street capacity for automobiles, parking is also affected by 鈥渋nduced鈥� demand, which essentially means that the more you provide, the more traffic you鈥檒l get.

This is increasingly relevant as we try to ratchet down transportation鈥檚 impact on climate change. As the single biggest contributor to that existential problem, we all have to be cognizant of how our auto-dependent culture needs to be radically modified as quickly as possible. Conversion to electric vehicles will help, but it likely will be 20 years before even half of all new vehicles have zero emissions. To have any hope of significantly reducing auto emissions soon we will have to create the conditions for significant reductions in vehicle miles traveled. That means placing serious limits on highway capacity construction and new parking spaces in concert with much increased investment in transit service, and bike- and pedestrian-friendly improvements.

Portland was an early leader in placing limits on downtown parking in the 1970s, which helped downtown grow in a very transit-friendly way. Now a similar shift has to happen in other areas throughout the region that must create more density in order to accommodate a growing population. But even more important is a shift in our parking expectations that needs to accompany this physical change. While it鈥檚 sometimes inconvenient and frustrating, the rapidly deteriorating climate situation demands significant responses. Taking a little more time to park is a small price to pay.