Don Carter: No ‘free’ parking

The Aug. 1 editorial “Yes to parking compromise” implied that downtown parking should be free to certain groups during certain hours of the day. But there is a cost for parking downtown in a deck, no matter what hour of the day it occurs.

Not charging during certain times of the day simply means the cost during these “free” periods is being paid by others. You failed to say who will pay for this “free” usage. The “free” parking will be paid by the daytime deck users, mostly downtown office employees, through higher rental rates.

Your idea of free parking simply shifts after-hours deck costs to the daytime office users. This is a problem since downtown office owners compete with suburban office owners for tenants (daytime deck users), just like downtown restaurants compete with suburban restaurants for patrons.

Office building owners, just like restaurant owners, don’t need the additional disincentive for their tenants of higher parking fees.

There is no such thing as a “free lunch,” and for that reason, those who use, and particularly those who abuse, should pay.

This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Don Carter: No ‘free’ parking."