Transportation Alternatives has issued a report (download the pdf here) that decries the costs of city-mandated off-street parking in new developments. By TA’s estimation, this zoning requirement will result in 170,000 new cars in NYC over the next 20 years. That, in turn, means significantly more congestion, pollution and other associated ills.

The parking requirements written into the zoning code are almost 50 years old. They date to a time when it was assumed that the car was the future for New York and every other city. I think we know better now, but we are still living with zoning requirements based on a decidedly mid-20th Century mindset.