100% true. That doesn’t mean they’re entitled to park in front of their downtown job for cheap. There’s more than ample parking on the perimeter of downtown.
There are free park and ride lots near the freeway ring. No need for people to drive all the way to downtown. And AAATA has plans for park and ride lots in nearby communities.
Of course, we also need to build tens of thousands more homes, so that more people can live in Ann Arbor instead of drive.
Parking and congestion pricing are directly related. The idea is to have people (who absolutely must drive) park in uncongested areas on the outskirts of the restricted area. Ex: coming from Miller, you could pay to cross Main Street, or park in Ann/Ashley, or better, the free Park & Ride lot.
See my point. In A2 that means someone driving from the east side (Ypsi) who needs to park on the north side (think Kellogg) would need to drive around the downtown core instead of through to avoid paying congestion pricing.
That adds time and stress to the day for working folks. You may not care, or may think the cost is lower than the benefits. But the cost is real and should be considered in this debate.
Not to mention that peripheral parking may mean one needs to drive around the downtown core to get to the other periphery. This would keep working class folks out of downtown, make their commute longer, or impose a regressive tax.
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Of course, we also need to build tens of thousands more homes, so that more people can live in Ann Arbor instead of drive.