End Minimum Parking Mandates

Albuquerque demands too much parking resulting in higher housing costs, worse urban heat island, and less vibrant spaces for people.  Reclaim that wasted space!

Why Minimum Parking Rules Hurt Burqueños

Wasteful Overbuilding

Rigid parking minimums consume large areas of land. They force businesses and homebuilders to provide vast seas of frequently empty asphalt. In their place, we could have more housing, cozy local businesses, and green space.

Mounting Costs

Would you guess that parking is expensive to build? A single spot in a surface lot can cost over $1,000 and a space in a parking garage can cost ten times that! Multiply that across an entire lot, and suddenly the cost of building new homes or businesses skyrockets. These costs are passed on to renters, homeowners, and customers.

In a time of rising housing and living costs, we should demand the flexibility to build more affordable places that better serve our community.

What We Have to Gain Through Parking Flexibility

Improved housing and rental affordability

Removing parking mandates reduces construction costs, which can translate into hundreds of dollars in monthly rent savings. Flexibility in meeting parking needs can be the deciding factor for whether deeply affordable housing projects move forward.  Those teetering on the edge of affording housing shouldn't be burdened with the cost of parking spaces they may not even use.

Prioritization of people friendly spaces

With more flexible parking policies, walkable, well-connected main street-style neighborhoods become possible again.  Imagine a future where a missing dinner ingredient doesn't mean packing up the whole family and driving to a large chain grocery store. Instead, a family member could simply walk to a small, locally-owned shop designed to serve the neighborhood’s needs.

Less wasted space, more productive uses

All across the state we see parking lots empty nearly two thirds of the day.  Without demands to continue wasting more space and sprawling us farther outward, we could begin to fill these spaces with trees, small business, and homes in convenient places nears jobs, schools, and parks.

Improved and protected local environments

By reducing the need to pour excess concrete and asphalt, Albuquerque can reclaim more green space, increase permeable land to recharge groundwater, and plant native vegetation helping us share our city with the critters that makes New Mexico unique.

Supported small community based businesses

Without the unnecessary burden of expansive parking requirements, neighborhood-serving businesses like daycares, cafés, and care providers can afford to open in the places where people actually live. 

Our Vision: End Outdated Parking Minimums for Albuquerque

Reach out to your city councilor and let them know you support ending mandated parking minimums in Albuquerque.  Check back on this page for future parking reform events and updates on how minimum parking rules have impacted real projects in our city.  You can also reach out via email or social media to share your story about how parking policies have affected your life or business.