Portland’s parking vs. housing debate is ‘over,’ mayor says
“This is a real choice and it was made with full community involvement.”
by Tony Jordan | May 4, 2017
Convenient parking is a problem in parts of Portland, Mayor Ted Wheeler conceded last week. But it’s a smaller problem than housing — and Wheeler says that when the two come in conflict, housing must be the priority.
The mayor’s words came at a Rose City Park Neighborhood meeting April 25th. Wheeler was asked by RCPNA board member Deborah Field what his plan was to “require developers to put in ample parking spaces” with new housing projects.
The mayor’s response was definitive:
I want to put a marker down. The debate: Parking vs. Housing? It’s really over. That piece of the conversation is over. When younger families or younger people say they want to locate here, the first thing they’re saying isn’t ‘Boy I wish I had another parking space, or had access to a parking space.” What they’re saying is, “I can’t afford to live in this city.” And, so, the city, meaning the debate that happened over the last three years actually made a choice, and the choice was affordability and housing over access to parking. I just want you to be aware that that is a real dynamic and is a real choice and it was made with full community involvement.
The mayor told the crowd that “parking adds significantly to the cost of affordable housing.”
(This is true for both market-rate and publicly backed homes, for the simple reason that urban space costs money. You can read more about the effect of excessive parking on housing prices here.)
Wheeler suggested that neighborhoods like Rose City Park that want to manage their parking supply should form parking permit districts similar to those in Northwest Portland and the Central Eastside Industrial District.
However, forming an overnight parking permit district isn’t yet an option for Rose City Park or any other neighborhood. The Portland Bureau of Transportation has spent years working to develop a framework for neighborhoods to create parking permit zones and parking benefit districts, but the policy has yet to be voted on by Portland City Council.
The mayor’s full comments can be read here or viewed below (starting at 35:30).
Cross-posted and lightly edited, with permission, from Portlanders for Parking Reform.
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