Parking Perspectives

For decades, the way people parked their cars barely changed. You drove to your destination, circled the block a few times, hoped to spot an open space, and—if luck was on your side—squeezed into something nearby. If not, frustration (and often a hefty parking fee) became part of the experience.

In cities across North America, bike lanes have become a hot topic. Advocates say they reduce traffic, improve safety, and create greener, more livable streets. Critics often counter that bike lanes take away valuable road space and, in many cases, reduce the amount of on-street parking available to residents, businesses, and visitors.

Over the past several weeks, we’ve been exploring one of the most overlooked — yet most frustrating — aspects of urban life: parking. From circling crowded city blocks to underused driveways sitting empty, parking represents both a daily challenge and a tremendous opportunity.

If you’ve ever driven into downtown Toronto—or honestly, any major city—you already know: parking sucks. It’s expensive, it’s stressful, and it eats up far more of your time (and sanity) than it should. And while Toronto is one of the worst offenders, the truth is that parking headaches are a shared experience across big cities and even their suburbs.

Here’s something we don’t talk about enough: parking spaces. You see them everywhere—vast lots, half-empty garages. But what if those spaces, instead of being dead weight, could be part of the solution? Shared parking has the potential to help not just drivers, but all of us—housing, affordability, climate, walk ability. At Parker, we believe that smarter parking can mean a smarter city.

Radius parking is a simple concept with big potential. Instead of driving all the way into the busiest, most congested part of the city, drivers stop a few kilometres out—often in quieter residential or mixed-use neighbourhoods. From there, they switch to another mode of transportation for the “last mile” (or in this case, last 5 kilometres). It’s a smarter way to use your car, your time, and your money.