Free parking is car welfare

The Weekly Nabe: "The average cost of residential space in my zip code is $892 per square foot. That means the total value of the street space that the city gives away for free is nearly $9 million. And that’s on my block alone.

comment by Eric McClure:

Based on your calculations, Keith, I worked out the monthly mortgage payment if everyone on the block had to buy a parking space rather than get one for free. Using a Toyota Prius as the average model, and allowing for a little space between cars, I calculated that there’s space for 78 cars on the block. Assuming that everyone had put down 20% for their spots, the monthly payment per spot, at a 4% interest rate, would be about $437. Seems about fair."