Somerville YIMBY wholeheartedly endorses the Carbon Free Somerville petition to eliminate mandatory parking minimums citywide.
Parking minimums — requirements that new construction provide off-street parking regardless of whether the builder wants it — are negative for numerous reasons. Most importantly:
- They waste space that could be better used for business activities or housing.
- They increase our already-high building costs, which contributes to high housing costs.
- They invite more cars into our community, which means more pollution, more traffic, and more car crashes.
For an affordable and sustainable future, Somerville should set limits on the number of additional cars we bring into the community, and simultaneously make it easier and faster to get around without a car.