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Comment by Reason077 | Hacker News Reader

Such vast, paved, surface-level parking lots are a distinctively American thing.

In Europe, for example, you’re much more likely to find covered, multi-level parking structures once a parking lot exceeds a given size.

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If Europe had the space that exists in and around Austin, they would do the same thing. It's simply far less expensive to build surface lots.

Yes, this is commonly done in areas where land is cheap, I'm thinking of rural train station parking lots, regional and small airport parking lots.

Exactly. It’s not like you see massive flat lots in Manhattan

There is this fairly efficient 10-level parking garage in Philadelphia, Arch Street. It is essentially two 10-floor towers connected at the top. They saved room by making driveways one-way. So you enter, you have to drive 10 floors up, drive across the roof, and then drive 10 floors down to the exit. You can park wherever along the way, but you always end up driving all the way up and down.

That sounds terrible. I feel like I'd get nausea or dizzy. Thats essentially driving in a circle 20 times.

Itd be okay if there were 2 mid level cross connections

The Sydney Opera House is like this too, it's a 12 story double helix excavated from sandstone.

I'm sure it was fascinating to design, but it's an absolute nightmare to park in.

Multilevel parking is about $10-15k per space. An asphalt lot is $1.5k.

You also don't pay land tax and stormwater drainage levies on an undeveloped parking lot.

In Europe, people are more likely to engage in active transportation. You´ll find more public transit, cycling and even walking. Public transit is just a normal way for anybody to get around, not a mobility fallback for poor people.

That is changing though. I've not seen the inside of a train for years and I'm happy with that TBH.

”A developed country is not a place where the poor have cars. It's where the rich use public transportation.”

Gustavo Petro

Personal anecdote is not "change"

Some parking places in Europe are also covered in gravel or permeable pavement and have trees between rows rather than being made of tarmac.

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