Want to see more buildings in Downtown Buffalo and less surface parking lots? BRO readers have been saying it for years. Start taxing the parking lots the same rate as buildings. A BRO reader just sent along this informative post from DC.StreetsBlog.org that paints parking lot pictures of Pittsburgh and Detroit – one rust belt city that is making a comeback and another that has declared bankruptcy. Guess which one is letting parking lot owners skate by virtually tax free, while the other is socking it to the owners?
Detroit taxes parking lots as if they were simply vacant properties. Pittsburgh charges accordingly, as if there were buildings on the parking lots. Think about it for a second. Owners of parking lots don’t have much as far as expenses go, yet they make a killing (depending on their locations).
Parking lots encourage more people to drive, even when public transportation is available. They limit the amount of goods and services by taking away needed urban density. They’re ugly and give the illusion of a vacant areas within a city when the lots are empty (think Cobblestone District in Buffalo). All told, they create less walkable neighborhoods.
In the end, higher taxes on parking lots helps to increase the tax base for the respective city. Just think if the additional tax funds were to be dedicated to the exact areas where the parking lots are located – the benefits would be enormous. Then think of the parking lot owners that might consider getting out of the game, in order to find developers willing to turn the lots into mixed use projects with value added parking. Now that would be a real win for Downtown Buffalo…um… I mean Detroit.
Photo: Parking in Downtown Buffalo