Parking has an inclusion problem

“What about parking?” is an objection often heard when discussing adding protected bike lanes to major streets, or increasing housing density. What they mean is, “Where will all those people put their cars?”

Yet a byproduct of creating safe routes for bicycles and denser space is … more people ride bikes. These people need to securely park their vehicles when they get where they’re going.

But the language we use comes with an implicit bias. “Parking” means “car parking.” So, let’s call it “car parking,” and let’s talk about “bike parking” in the same conversations. We can fix parking’s inclusion problem.

Each vehicle here is a potential customer or worker at shops along this busy street. Which vehicles make most efficient use of space? Image via Spacing Toronto.