Parking Benefit Districts

Abstract

Where curb parking is overcrowded, drivers who are searching for a rare open curb space congest traffic, pollute the air, and produce carbon dioxide. To avoid these problems, some cities have established Parking Benefit Districts that charge market prices for curb parking and spend the revenue to pay for public services on the metered blocks. A case study of Manhattan’s Upper West Side found that charging market prices for the currently unmetered curb spaces would eliminate 22 tons of carbon dioxide emissions per block per year and yield at least $1,025 per household per year to improve public services.