Almost half a billion dollars to provide 786,154 parking spaces—this is the bill totaled up in a survey of 326 major U.S. cities. These parking facilities are either already available or definitely planned for in the group of cities reported on by the American Municipal Association in its new publication, "Parking Space—What American Cities Are Doing To Provide It."

Participating cities were all over 25,000 in population. The association limited its report to facilities created and owned by local governmental agencies. Data gathered show that publicly provided off-street parking in these cities accounts for more than 168,844 spaces, and that an additional 51,567 are planned for 1956.

These parking spaces are to be found in over 1,122 different lots. In addition, upwards of 311 new facilities, to accommodate some 90,000 more cars, are planned, at a cost of close to $200 million. Besides the off-street parking, the 326 reporting cities show that about 480,000 metered curb spaces have been provided, for which the meters alone cost almost $37 million.

The largest cities (over 500,000) plan to invest approximately $145 million in public parking over the next five years, while reporting cities between 25,000 and 500,000 expect to spend about $51 million in that time.

New York, with 9,150 spaces in 1955, plans a $50 million expenditure over the next half decade, dwarfing the $13 million facilities already in use. The next five years will see significant increases in publicly owned parking facilities among many large cities. Programs are going into effect in Los Angeles, where 10,800 spaces will be provided; Detroit (7,216); Cleveland (6,000); Boston (4,500); San Francisco (5,117); Pittsburgh (5,450); and Cincinnati (5,000).

Among the states, California cities report the greatest number of publicly owned parking spaces, 25,637; while Illinois, largely because of a huge Chicago program, shows the greatest expenditure: over $31,875,000.

In some cases, cities are unable to proceed with parking programs because of inadequate state legislative authority. States where such legal stumbling blocks are most serious include Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Nebraska, Oregon, Texas, and Washington.

Ann Arbor, Mich., has established a unified system of street meters, lots, and garages. In Chicago, a court decision was needed to open the way for revenue bond financing. Kansas City, Mo., combined city and private enterprise to launch a many-sided program, while Orlando, Fla., had to campaign for public acceptance of street meters as a means to providing off-street facilities. Pittsburgh

established a parking authority to build and lease garages, and Sacramento, Calif., raised city capital for parking lots in a capital city.

Home of the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, must contend with about 25,000 registered cars and 400 student-owned cars, operating in seven square miles. After a survey, the city adopted a long-range, pay-its-own-way parking plan by selling revenue bonds. All parking facilities are combined under one system, with income from parking meters, lots, and garages pledged to secure the bonds. The city has a ten-year expansion plan that will nearly double the present facilities.

Chicago faced serious legal difficulties in creating a city-owned parking system. The plan recommended for Chicago was to operate such facilities privately, under contract. A 1950 circuit court decision held that it was unconstitutional to manage such public undertakings by private enterprise, but the Illinois Supreme Court ultimately reversed the decision. The issuance of $50 million in revenue bonds for providing parking space was authorized in 1952. The city now has parking decks with 8,069 spaces, plus 27,000 curb meters. Also, the Park District, a separate taxing agency, built a $6 million lake front underground garage with 2,400 spaces.

A cooperative venture in which the city supplements private enterprise gives Kansas City a five-part program. It includes: 1) a city-owned 1200-car garage; 2) a parking project being carried out under a redevelopment program; 3) another project designed to help merchants provide off-street parking; 4) requirement of minimum off-street parking under the zoning ordinance; and 5) traffic department supervision and regulation of both on-and off-street parking.

Orlando has dealt with a traffic and parking problem without additional tax levies. The Orlando Parking Commission determined that meters would not only help solve the parking problem but would also provide needed revenue to finance off-street parking. A campaign to acquaint the public with the benefits of the plan, plus city council approval, resulted in the installation of meters with good public acceptance. Revenue from them provided the means to buy sites for three metered parking facilities, while funds to implement the program further were raised through sale of revenue bonds.

Part of the "Pittsburgh Renaissance" has been the establishment of a parking authority. Acting on recommendations resulting from an engineering analysis, the authority borrowed $3,500,000 from local banks, while the city pledged its parking meter revenues, then averaging $14,000 a month, to the authority. The first two garages were

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completed in 1952. City facilities to date provide 4,037 spaces.

The last city considered, Sacramento, as capital of California and an agricultural center, plays host to some 100,000 automobiles every day. Ownership of vehicles here is at the highest rate of any city in the U.S. In 1951, after extensive study of the parking problem, the city sold a $1,600,000 revenue bond issue to provide off-street facilities. By 1954, three lots had been acquired, two of which are large enough to require the services of an attendant in a tower to spot vacancies when the lot is crowded.

Financial returns indicate that the Sacramento lots are paying off their debt quickly and showing an anual surplus of over $50,000. Expansion plans call for an increase from the present 897 spaces to 1,165 in the next ten years.