Edmonton Eliminates Off-Street Parking Requirements Citywide

"Like almost every municipality in North America for the past fifty years, Edmonton has told businesses, developers and landowners how much parking they must provide on their property," according to an article by Ashley Salvador. But that's about the change. "Last month, however, Edmonton implemented a radical rule change: going forward, other than mandatory accessible spaces, no property would be required to provide any parking whatsoever."

"The rule change made Edmonton the first major Canadian city to eliminate off-street parking minimums citywide," adds Slavador. "As an urban planning tweak, the move may seem arcane. But Edmonton’s policy change is a very big deal — a radical rejoinder to the notion that cities need ample parking.  Its results will be closely watched by officials across the continent."

Salvador is absolutely correct about the significance of Eddmonton's parking reform, which vaults Edmonton into the lead of a group that includes Hartford, Buffalo, and San Francisco in the United States, with numerous other cities considering wholesale parking reform and others considering a more incremental approach, removing minimum parking requirements in select parts of town. 

The continent's largest city by population, Mexico City, eliminated parking requirements citywide in 2017. Off the continent, New Zealand just passed nationwide parking reforms along with a package of height limit reforms.

Back in Edmonton, Salvador adds soundbites from Edmonton Mayor Don Iveson listing the benefits of parking reform, including environmental sustainability and economic resilience for both businesses and individuals.

Planetizen first picked up news about Edmonton's plans for parking reform in May.