The Twin Cities' region has a culture of free and abundant parking and the results are expensive and wasteful. A new report by Transit for Livable Communities entitled The Myth of Free Parking examines the need for employers and communities to reform parking practices and policies.

While parking provides many benefits, parking that is oversupplied, subsidized, or poorly designed results in hidden costs and has negative consequences. When parking is provided "free" to employees, it results in lower rates of carpooling and transit ridership, and contributes to traffic congestion. Municipal parking requirements are often inaccurate, resulting in unused parking stalls and higher development costs. Poorly designed parking results in unappealing streetscapes and creates barriers to walking and biking.

The Myth of Free Parking raises fundamental questions about parking and identifies ways in which employers, municipalities, and state agencies can improve their approach to parking. The report discusses parking innovations from the Twin Cities region and around the country.