Downtown parking is not the problem

By Mark Forsythe The Kansas City Post It's difficult to revive an urban center with people who are suburban minded. Kansas City wants to compete with Dallas, Minneapolis, and even Chicago, but we're trying to do so with leaders who seemed convinced that acres of blacktop parking lots are the answer. I'm consistently amazed annoyed by what seems to be the new slogan for downtown. "But where will I park?" Maybe if some of these self-appointed leaders would venture outside of Missouri once in a while they might get a sense of how vibrant urban centers actually work. Recently The Star's Kevin Collison penned a piece called "Seeing Red Over Meters" in which he quotes Jonathan Kemper, president and CEO of Commerce Bank, Downtown Council member, and board member of the Citizens Association. "It will drive people out of downtown" he grouses when referring the the idea that the City Council may raise parking meter rates to (gasp!) $1 and hour. Mr. Kemper then goes on to disparage hard-working police parking enforcement officials by calling them "nasty." Nice. The article goes on to mention a scientific poll conducted by the Star in which 90 percent of respondents thought downtown needed free parking. What a shocker. You need a scientific poll to tell you people like things that are free?! I think I just found my calling. I'm going to become a pollster. Maybe the airlines will pay me to conduct a scientific poll that people would prefer airfares to be free. I'm also pleased to announce that a group of six-year olds at my neighborhood playground explained to me that their lives would be significantly better if they each had a pony. The world runs on supply and demand. A simple price-elasticity graph will show you where to set the parking rates. Limited parking creates activity. People park farther away and walk, maybe patronizing a business on the way. People use cabs, ride the bus, carpool... That's called economic activity. Limited parking creates the need for good public transit. Higher parking meter rates create higher turnover. It keeps people moving. It opens up spaces at a higher frequency. In the business world that's called turnover or "churn" and that's a good thing. Least of all, but also important, yes parking meters provide revenue for City coffers. We might even need more of those "nasty meter maids" as Mr. Kemper so graciously refers to them. All that activity sounds pretty good to me. No urban renaissance has ever been created or sustained by free parking. It's unfortunate that such a powerful organization like the Downtown Council can be so short-sighted. Yes downtown is enjoying a resurgence. Yes we need to keep that momentum going. But the whole reason for pursuing activity on the streets is to generate commerce (no pun intended). And even the simple act of harvesting a few quarters out of a parking meter is far better than what we had just a few short years ago. A buck an hour is not going to keep people away if your product is good enough. Perhaps the downtown leaders should concentrate on that side of the equation. Make downtown a place where people will gladly pay $1 just to be there. After all, what good is a product if you have to give it away for free?