"Place First" Parking Plans

PARK[ing] Day gives us all a chance to consider how parking fits into the larger city.

An article about "place first" parking plans points out that while demand for parking is a product of supply, the minimum supply of parking is mandated through zoning codes.

At some point a balance has to be met. The article also mentions, with respect to Hartford, "They have too much parking from the perspective that they have degraded vitality, interest and walkability, with bleak zones of parking that fragment the city. The have too little parking for the exact same reason - they have degraded walkability and thus increased the demand for parking.

In Cincinnati's CBD 20% of the surface area is dedicated to parking lots. This doesn't include on-street parking or the additional levels of garages. Putting a cap on parking can insure that demand doesn't go unchecked at the cost of walkability and vitality. It may seem counter intuitive, but the article shows that it is possible to put places before parking.