Woah, park it right there — what’s going on?
This week, San Jose City Council unanimously voted to get rid of parking requirements for new developments — doing away with a standard that has been in place since 1965.
In September, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a statewide law to abolish parking minimums for new developments near major public transit stops, but no other city as large as ours has made this move citywide.
What are the advantages? Of course, there will be more space to utilize — if you’ve seen large parking lots that are frequently empty, you know what we mean.
It will save a lot of money. Parking garages are estimated to cost about $50,000 per space to build. Transit officials claim that housing prices are also driven higher because parking space hikes up per-unit costs of developments.
So, let us know — what do you think of this change?