Parking policy saves the local economy. This article handles the tension that exists between having a parking policy aimed at contributing to the accessibility of economic centres or having a parking policy that is primarily concerned with generating income for local communities. In both conceptions, parking policy can be seen as ‘saviour of the local economy’. Parking policy which is directed towards guaranteeing a certain level of accessibility, contributes, by doing so, to the functioning of the local economy. In the second approach, the local economy refers to the receipts and expenditure of the local authority. For many local authorities in the Netherlands, the income generated by parking fees is an important source of income. Often, over the years, local authorities got dependent on these income to not have budgetary deficits. After discussing the parking policy in the municipality of Oss, the article ends by stating that authorities should never see parking primarily as source of income. A good functioning and development of economic centres asks for a parking policy that facilitates mobility and guarantees accessibility. (Author/publisher)
Abstract