Parking Lots: A National Treasure?

Did you know? The amount of public subsidies given to free parking far outweighs federal funding for the National Park Service.

1 minute read

April 28, 2023, 5:00 AM PDT

By Diana Ionescu @aworkoffiction


In a sendup of America’s parking obsession in Streetsblog, Kea Wilson invites the reader to visit one of America’s “internationally infamous” parking lots through a series of posters designed to look like vintage National Park Service posters.

“Fun fact: the National Park Service only gets about $3.6 billion a year from the federal government, while free parking alone draws between $102 and $374 billion in public subsidies annually, depending on how you calculate it.”

“Residents of St. Louis, for instance, can take a sweet staycation on 105 acres of lots in the downtown core alone, according to a recent analysis from the Parking Reform Network.” In Arlington, Texas, a whopping 42 percent of downtown land is dedicated to parking.

Not interested in touring your local parking lots? Well, Wilson notes, “you could visit an actual National Park … but you’d probably still have to drive.”

Wednesday, April 26, 2023 in Streetsblog USA

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