Parking in Waterloo Region

[Spokes]

[quote pid='4030' dateline='1421150353']
This would only work under the assumption that there are people driving to the market that otherwise would be walking or taking the bus there. I do not believe there are such people. Some people might simply not go to the market altogether, which would reduce traffic but damage the viability of the market. So this is cutting your nose to spite your face.

There are at least some people who would be dissuaded from driving to the market because of a parking fee of x dollars, and would choose to use a different mode of transportation to get there. You're right that there are other people who (as Viewfromthe42 suggests) would go elsewhere to avoid the parking charge, even if that's not a rational economic decision because other costs are higher.

Spokes is right that the right price needs to be found for parking, especially if it's over-subscribed at its current price ("free"). There are some people who won't tolerate any parking charge because they think it's their right to have other people subsidize their transportation choices. Most people will tolerate some level of charge, beyond which they will change their behaviour somehow. It needs to be understood how they might change their behaviour- it's not true that everyone will do the same thing. But, if the garage is full now, the price needs to go up.
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These are some of the key principals behind an article I believe called The High Price of Free Parking.  Worth a read if you haven't