Skip to Content
Streetsblog New York City home
Log In
Streetsblog

Mixed Messages: Parking Requirements at Bars

11:01 AM EDT on July 20, 2011

If the government catches you drinking and driving, you will be arrested, fined and possibly jailed. And rightly so. Drunk driving kills almost 11,000 people annually in the United States, more than the number of U.S. soldiers killed in our multiple wars over the past decade.

On the other hand, government agencies are rolling out the red carpet for motorists at establishments devoted to drinking, thanks to minimum parking requirements. What gives?

Government regulations help ensure that if you want to go get a drink, you won't have to search far for a parking space. Photo: Pitch.com

Erica C. Barnett of Network blog PubliCola says its time we ended this thoroughly counterproductive and dangerous practice.

By requiring parking for drinkers’ cars, city land use codes practically encourage drunk driving.

Even “progressive” Northwest cities aren’t immune. Vancouver, BC is actually one of the worst offenders, requiring one parking space for every 60 square feet of businesses that sell liquor for on-site consumption. (In fairness, Vancouver does exempt much of its city core from parking requirements).

Seattle and Portland, meanwhile, both set minimum parking requirements for bars at one space for every 250 square feet. The “best” city, in terms of parking requirements: Boise, Idaho, which requires just one parking space per 300 square feet of bar space.

Barnett quotes Vancouver blogger Eric de Place, whose post on Sightline inspired her remarks, on how to remedy this problem:

It’s really not hard. You just need the number zero. That’s how you make sustainability legal when it comes to bar parking. You find that section in your city’s land use code where it regulates parking minimums. You take a black magic marker, cross out what’s there, and then write in the word “none.” It’s that easy.

Elsewhere on the Network today: Spacing Toronto encourages local cyclists to turn out for a ride to protest Mayor Rob Ford’s plan to remove the Jarvis Street bike lane. The Seattle Transit Blog remarks on the irony of public outrage over artificially deflated parking prices. And Green City Blue Lake reports on a minor victory in the Cleveland region, where ODOT spurned bike advocates’ pleas for a bike lane over an important bridge, but offered $6 million in improvements along an alternate route as a compromise.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog New York City

Police Brass Gets Booed During E-Vehicle Safety Alliance Meeting for Applauding Deliveristas

Attendees of the E-Vehicle Safety Alliance's latest meeting castigated a Transportation Bureau deputy inspector for saying that delivery workers are responsive to safety issues.

September 28, 2023

Thursday’s Headlines: Unsafe School Streets Edition

A school crossing guard was injured by a drunk driver on Tuesday. Plus more news.

September 28, 2023

EYES ON THE STREET: Drivers Dominate Former W. 22nd Open Street

Meh. The barriers are gone and the cars are back on W. 22nd, but some spaces for people remain.

September 28, 2023

‘Not Grieving Alone’: A Father’s Artistic Journey After Losing Two Kids to Road Violence

Colin Campbell and his wife Gail Lerner lost both their children in a car crash with impaired driver. Now, it's a show.

September 28, 2023

Opinion: Bring Back ‘Give Respect/Get Respect’ Campaign

If cyclists don't throw their own bad apples under the bus, we won't get safer streets, argues this West Side advocate.

September 27, 2023
See all posts