PARKING is a subject that is often left out of transportation plans and policies — to our collective peril. With only a small fraction of our population (6 percent of Filipino households) owning cars, we already have severe road congestion and heavy air pollution in many Philippine cities. Low-cost or free parking not only attracts further car use, it also represents a subsidy for the small car-owning minority, financed by the entire population. In this column, I highlight four parking-related measures which can transform our mobility environment for the better.

1) Remove illegal car parking spaces where safe and accessible sidewalks are supposed to be.