People are parking because they’re going somewhere. For the small fraction really can’t use an app or a phone, then go to the business or person they are visiting, give them the money, and have them pay.
Ideally someone installs one or two apps and they work nearly everywhere so there’s no installing new apps and accounts to park.
For cash payments, I don’t know of anyone does this, but I think a program for local biz to take cash and feed the “meter” for a patron is the way.
For the tech, I am sold on “open market” policy. Let people choose their own app. There’s major consolidation happening anyway so the city shouldn’t spend time on RFP to pick a company that just gets swallowed up. (We hosted a webinar on this topic).
The thing missing from most city paid parking plans is VALUE. No one wants to pay for parking! It’s true. No one wants to pay for anything!
If you pay for a meter or parking space that you had to circle the block forever to get, what was the value?
Go big or go home on this.
My first login (CSFR72D) was for prodigy.
I’ve never felt more seen.
We are loving this show.
Foreman electrician in a steel mill and chemical engineer in a coke (carbon) plant. Those grandpas died when I was young and my step-grandpas were a butcher and an insurance salesman (I think).
Gemini told him there’s no gas leak. Everything is fine.
This is bad for freeways, right?
Hear me out — single SLIDE buildings.
Not at all.
brb. setting up content filter rules so that my own organization's mailing lists and emails between staff don't go into gmail spam...
Just saying he looks healthier on death's doorstep than he does today 🤞
Damn, he looks relatively good there.
Price EVERY car trip.
That’s why I can’t have a TED Talk. There’s not enough to say (and also nearly all the gatekeepers have car brain).
Yes. Its honestly insane to focus so much on potential MODELED vmt and not spend every waking breath fighting to price EVERY CAR TRIP.
Just another reason to hate cars.
A pretty good summary here about Ottawa City Council's recent approval of the new zoning by-law. "How Ottawa Abolished Its Parking Mandates"
parkingreform.org/2026/02/12/h...
(via @theoverheadwire.com)
Exactly.
Well some of it anyway. Please don’t build the parking garage.
Should we also raid and shutdown Wunderland?
I think if rocks or bottles are falling from the sky we have bigger fish to fry.
On the topic of annoying things that should be abolished/fixed, did you know city code currently allows Tesla to install as many super charger stations as it wants in any existing parking lot and no one can stop them?
I wish so much that this was true that I looked it up.
Just as an aside. I’m in a place with bad internet and bluesky video loads better than photos. What’s up with that?
What part isn’t the Nazi part?
Nice! I hope you enjoy it!
It’s worth noting that Costco and WinCo, the cheapest options, almost certainly require access to a car to be practical options (or you pay more for delivery from instacart).
Amazon Fresh is about as cheap as WinCo?
Honestly it’s not even the worst idea I’ve heard for spending climate justice money (that goes to an idea to build parking garages by a recently announced candidate).
