Cities are taking action to solve some of these problems. Spokane has permanently abolished parking requirements, and Port Townsend is in the process of doing the same. But we desperately need state action to stop cities from hurting renters and small businesses.

In SeaTac, the rules are kabuki theater: For hospitals, 1 stall per bed, plus 5 stalls for every 2 employees. For breweries, 1 stall per 40 sq. ft. of tasting room space, plus 1 per employee. For bowling alleys, 5 stalls per lane, plus 1 per employee.

Want to get crazier? On average, Washington jurisdictions require daycares to provide 87 square feet of parking per child served, which is more than the amount of outdoor play area required by the state (75 sq. ft.). Also (obviously), kids cannot drive.

Parking takes up space! As soon as a city requires 3 stalls / 1,000 sq. ft. of floor area, the parking takes up as much space as the building. Many cities require 4/1,000 for retail, or even up to 10/1,000 for restaurants. That means the parking lot is 3 times larger than the restaurant itself.

Have you ever seen vacant retail space in your city or town? It could be because of parking mandates. Converting former offices to retail, or retail to restaurants, requires more parking stalls. If that wasn't considered when the building was built, too bad.

Ever wonder why there aren't more family-sized apartments and condos? It could be because of parking. In 6 out of 10 jurisdictions, larger apartments require more parking stalls.

60% of jurisdictions require studio apartments to provide more than one parking stall per unit. 20% of jurisdictions require two parking stalls per studio apartment. 🤯

58% of all Washington renters own one or no cars, but in most places across the state, it's illegal to build a home with only one parking spot. Not eliminate parking. It's illegal to build a home with only one stall.

The incredible Catie Gould at @Sightline is out with a fantastic new report on how Washington's parking mandates are making housing more expensive and making it harder to start a small business. Here are some wild stats from the report. 🧵 FULL REPORT: https://buff.ly/4eHUmwc

SeaTac look soooooo bad right now lmao it’s almost embarrassing