Boulevard Parking (Kitchener)

[ijmorlan]

Something to think about: the privileges are granted to people with money, if they are willing to part with some of the money in order to obtain the privilege.

If there's something beyond the surface you're hoping I realize, I'm afraid it isn't happening but I would appreciate any elaboration you're willing to supply. People with money get to pick and choose which privileges they indulge in, that's kind of the point of privilege. People without money aren't afforded a choice at all.

I just mean that we give people with money opportunities to spend it; and some of that spending can result in spreading the money around. Essentially, voluntary redistribution.

It’s unavoidable, by definition, that people with more money can buy more stuff than people with less money. If it can be arranged that some of their voluntary spending benefits everybody else, that can be a good thing.

In the case of boulevard parking, I don’t really care if some people can buy something that others cannot: that is true anyway. I think the question is whether the money received from the people paying for boulevard parking makes up for the effect on the streetscape. Same comment applies to street parking: does the money received from meters make up for the significant reduction in the public realm resulting from an entire lane being full of non-moving cars? Naively, it might appear that if the price is $0 the (non-existent) money can’t possibly be enough; but merchants may benefit from their customers having convenient parking, so even free parking may be justified in some circumstances. It’s not a simple question.