A book appeared on my desk this morning, a heavy one, with the above title. Turns out it came from Tribune Staffer Mark Holan, who covers Hillsborough County for Ma Trib.  It’s by Donald Shoup, a professor of urban planning at UCLA.
  The book, all 733 pages of it _ I’ll read it and get back to you. Right. _ explores the premise that free parking, or cheap parking, are neither free nor cheap. Each of those spaces, says Shoup, costs way more than the average car, first to the developer, then to tenants, and then, in the form of higher prices for goods and services, to us. And zoning codes require all manner of off-street spaces _ 1.5 per nozzle at a gas station, 10 per daily funeral at a mauseleum _ based on peak demand, in places that lack public transit or pedestrian-friendly amenities.
  Shoup recommends ending the requirement that developers provide off-street parking;  charging fair market prices for curb parking; and, using the revenue from curb parking to pay for neighborhood improvements in the neighborhood that generates the revenue.
  I guess the theory is that expensive parking would increase the demand for mass transit, and places would look a lot better without so many garages and poorly maintained remote lots. Sounds radical, but maybe I should read the book.