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Comment by swalling | Hacker News Reader

This isn't really a new trend, Texas is just a laggard because it is an unusually car-dependent state. Most major cities have been trending toward eliminating parking minimums, at least in downtown cores.

Here's a map from 2015: https://www.strongtowns.org/journal/2015/11/18/a-map-of-citi...

And one updated as of 2021: https://parkingreform.org/resources/mandates-map/

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> Austin is the biggest city in the country to eliminate its parking mandates citywide

> Austin removed parking requirements for its downtown area a decade ago

Here’s an article from 2024 :) https://www.npr.org/2024/01/02/1221366173/u-s-cities-drop-pa...

That article is technically true but misleading. Most of Manhattan eliminated parking minimums back in 1982. Seattle eliminated or reduced minimums anywhere close to transit (which is a huge part of the city obviously) back in 2012. The entire state of Oregon eliminated parking minimums and single family zoning last year. Austin isn't setting a trend here, they're just catching up because the city has grown so quickly recently.

Most of Manhattan’s unilateral action 42 years ago probably doesn’t relate to a modern day trend.

Oregon sounds like it is setting a pace, I’m glad Austin managed to end single family zoning last year alongside it. I hope Seattle, and every single other major city government in the US will manage to one day remove citywide parking mandates alongside the unusually car dependent laggards in Austin.

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