Minneapolis is mired in a debate over the role the automobile should play in the city's mobility mix. Many neighborhoods want to reduce surface parking and ease minimum parking requirements, but people still view the city as “a car town.”
Minneapolis seems stuck between a car-dependent past and a future of increased walking, biking, and transit use. Caught in the middle are city leaders and planners, who are working to loosen parking requirements and reduce surface lots while facing complaints over reduced availability.
"Striking a balance between too much and too little parking is a growing quandary, particularly as more residents bike, walk and take transit while also holding onto their cars," writes Eric Roper. Despite astonishing growth in the percentage of trips taken by bike, transit, and on foot from 2000-2010, the percentage of carless households in Minneapolis actually declined during that period.
“The first reaction of most neighborhoods would be that there’s not enough parking,” said Ted Tucker, president of the city planning commission. “But the trouble with that is, of course, the city may devote too many resources to parking automobiles and not enough to making life pleasant for pedestrians and bicyclists.”
FULL STORY: Minneapolis seeks more people, not more cars
Twin Cities Parking Reform Shows Promising Results
Minneapolis and St. Paul both eliminated parking minimums, paving the way for less parking and more housing.
Minneapolis Eliminates Parking Requirements Citywide
Minneapolis joins the avant garde of cities implementing a dramatic overhaul of the parking requirement status quo that has been a primary determinant of the form and function of cities for nearly a century.
New Hampshire House Passes Parking Reform Bill
The revised bill, which caps parking requirements at one spot per residential unit and eliminates exemptions, will go back to the Senate for a new vote.
Maui's Vacation Rental Debate Turns Ugly
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Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
San Francisco Suspends Traffic Calming Amidst Record Deaths
Citing “a challenging fiscal landscape,” the city will cease the program on the heels of 42 traffic deaths, including 24 pedestrians.
Half of Post-Fire Altadena Home Sales Were to Corporations
Large investors are quietly buying up dozens of properties in Altadena, California, where a devastating wildfire destroyed more than 6,000 homes in January.
Opinion: What San Francisco’s Proposed ‘Family Zoning’ Could Really Mean
Mayor Lurie is using ‘family zoning’ to encourage denser development and upzoning — but could the concept actually foster community and more human-scale public spaces?
Jacksonville Launches First Autonomous Transit Shuttle in US
A fleet of 14 fully autonomous vehicles will serve a 3.5-mile downtown Jacksonville route with 12 stops.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
Gallatin County Department of Planning & Community Development
Heyer Gruel & Associates PA
JM Goldson LLC
City of Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Astoria
Transportation Research & Education Center (TREC) at Portland State University
Jefferson Parish Government
Camden Redevelopment Agency
City of Claremont