End Parking Mandates and Subsidies - Success Stories

These success stories will help you learn how to advocate for the elimination of parking minimums in your town or city.

Announcing a New and Improved Map of Cities That Have Removed Parking Minimums

We’re relaunching our crowd-sourced map of cities in the U.S. and Canada that have ended or sharply curtailed their parking requirements. And it's more useful than ever.

A New Way to Look at Minimum Parking Requirements

Strong Towns and the Parking Reform Network have joined forces to bring you a whole new way of viewing reforms to parking minimums across North America.

"Parking minimums are costing your city. For a way forward, look to Edmonton."

Learn how Edmonton, Alberta, successfully advocated for the removal of parking minimums citywide. Be sure to also check out this earlier article about Edmonton's journey to parking minimum removal and this webcast led by the folks in Edmonton who made this change happen.

"Why Parking Minimums Almost Destroyed My Hometown and How We Repealed Them"

Sandpoint, Idaho, was spending money they didn't have on parking they didn't need. But local leaders stepped up to remove parking minimums and change the city's trajectory. Don't miss this podcast interview with Strong Towns Board member John Reuter about Sandpoint's progress on removing minimums, too.

"But Where Will I Park?" (Video)

One of the easiest steps toward making your town stronger is by preventing one of its most important resource, land, from being wasted. Parking minimums stymie growth in towns. Citizens of Fayetteville, Arkansas realized this, and inadvertently began a movement by removing parking minimums, seeking to make it easier for entrepreneurs to rejuvenate empty buildings downtown. We went there ourselves to show you exactly what that looks like. 

"3 Lessons in People-Centered Transportation from the First U.S. City to Completely Eliminate Parking Minimums"

In 2018, Hartford, Connecticut, became the first American city to fully eliminate parking minimums. You can learn a lot from their experience.

"Elimination of Parking Minimums Sparks Downtown Investment in Sandpoint, Idaho"

Discover how Sandpoint, Idaho's decision to eliminate parking minimums revitalized its urban core and spurred millions in investments.

"Spokane’s Step-by-Step Approach to Repealing Parking Mandates"

Build a bipartisan coalition. Launch a pilot project. Speak to the core issues facing your community. That’s how Spokane, Washington, was able to eliminate costly parking mandates. Here's the full story.

"These Cities Recently Passed Parking Reforms (and Yours Can Too)"

We’ve assembled a guide to three towns and cities of varying sizes that have recently revised their parking regulations. That way, when you decide to pursue parking reform in your own community, you can use them as examples of how parking reform strengthens cities.

"Parking Mandate Reform Brings a Little Bit of Good for Everyone"

Parking reform isn't just about eliminating spaces; it's about unlocking a city's potential. From spurring development to enabling affordable housing, parking reform can benefit many people in diverse ways. Anchorage, Alaska, is experiencing this firsthand.

"How Colorado Won Gold in Land-Use Policy Reform"

In May 2024, Colorado advocates for people-centered cities and incremental housing pulled off a massive win, sending a bill package full of land-use reforms to be signed into state law. Here’s how they did it.

"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.