Milwaukee’s Parking Puzzle, August 2018
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“It’s the single biggest land use in most cities,” says Donald Shoup, a UCLA urban planning professor who’s made parking policy his primary research focus.
Despite its ubiquity, parking is a finite resource, like every other form of urban space. But the number of cars — especially in Milwaukee, where we particularly love them — is potentially overwhelming. Managing that paradox is at the root of any city’s approach to creating parking at enforcing its rules. How well it’s managed can affect everything from development and employment to retail and nightlife to where people want to live. Add about 50 inches of snow annually into the mix, and you can start to get a sense of the enormity of the challenge in Milwaukee.
Erik Gunn 