The government of Mexico City recently announced a push to reduce the number of parking spaces available in the city. According to city officials, there are 6.5 million parking spaces in the city which represent 42% of the building/structures in the city.
The program titled “Less Spaces, More City” will promote the reduction of parking spaces by allowing constructions to have the minimum amount of parking spaces needed rather than the maximum. The number of parking spaces building should have will vary depending on the neighborhood. Areas that can be easily accessed using public transportation, such as the city center, will require even less spaces than those where public transportation is scarce.
Construction companies that choose to create the full number of parking spaces the construction permit allows will have to pay a fee that will go to the city’s mobility fund. By moving away from parking minimum requirements that focus on the largest number needed, the city hopes to promote more people-friendly uses of space and to discourage the use of automobiles.
Last month, TomTom released the results of their annual report on the traffic index. Mexico City ranked as the top city with traffic once again with an average of 66% extra travel time during the day and 101% extra travel time in evening peak periods.
