Atlanta needs a parking-reform initiative

You have to wonder how much density we're really adding near the Eastside Beltline when these giant parking decks are mixed in.

Parking minimums (requiring a certain number of spaces) are active here, which stinks. We should abolish minimums along the Beltline and allow for a lower ratio of spaces.

I hope Atlanta's new planning commissioner, Jahnee Prince, will look into this.

It's a complex issue with no easy answers. But "doing nothing" isn't an option.

Why? Because these decks are massively expensive to build, and that cost has to be recovered through higher rents. Plus, the glut of parking makes transit less competitive, and it takes up valuable space that could be used as housing and more.

A parking-reform initiative is needed for Atlanta. This doesn't mean "ban all parking" or "ban all cars." It means planning for a built environment where the growth of new parking is less than what it has been.

I'd like to see it involve a full inventory of spaces near the Beltline and near rail stations, and a study of how many of those spaces stay empty most of the time. Also a study of the needs for physically handicapped drivers.

What else needs to be part of this?