The economics of parking space

Car park is a scarce commodity. The last time I went to Gombak Land Office in Selayang to pay my quit rent I have to go few rounds before I could get a space on the soggy, water logged road shoulder.
Few years back there was ample parking inside the office complex itself and when I asked why parking was not provided for the taxpayers, I was told that now they do not even have enough space for the staff.

The pressure for parking space is a universal problem in cities and towns in Malaysia. Even housing estates and apartment dwellers are not spared. I arrived at a relative apartment block in Sentul just before 8 p.m for hari raya gathering recently, and was able to get a decent parking but could not get out by the time we finish dinner. By late evening most apartment dwellers have returned home and it was just customary for them to park cars at any available space in rows and adopt the last in first out principle.

As a result of these experiences I am becoming conscious of the problem facing car owners everytime I drive around a housing estate at night or during weekend, and the solutions are nowhere near. Land available for parking is limited and expensive and there will never be enough. Suddenly I am beginning to notice a lot of cars parked by the road side at most residential areas at night. Now you see multiple car ownerships by resident in housing estates including apartment dwellers. It is common to see one family that have five cars while the house they live in provide only for one car park.

How do we solve this problem? Obviously the government, especially local government, must take the lead. In some cities in UK, residents are issued with parking permits. Firstly it is to protect residents rights and secondly it is a form of rationing and thus those with commercial vehicles or too many vehicles are deny the right to the limited space. There is now a proposal to link parking space availability to global warming by making it expensive to have the right to a parking space on the road curb.

The time has come for Malaysia to discourage car ownerships, accelerate investment in public transportation and make it user friendly too, and invest in bicycle lanes instead of motorcyle lanes. These measures will not only improve the quality of life for Malaysian as a group but in the long run will also save the government money. The benefits to the community as a whole shall be far greater than the potential loss to a few individuals.