The Impact of Car Transport on the Environment and Public Spaces in Cities: Case Study from Slovakia

Abstract The increasing traffic volume of individual car transport results in environmental damage and new space requirements for parking. Parked cars occupy public space that a municipality could use for non-transport purposes. An effective urban parking policy is a solution that could influence transport and significantly improve the quality of public spaces and the environmental burden of traffic. Effective parking management can increase revenues to a city budget to be used for further urban development. The regulation of parking and charging are unpopular topics for politicians. They are afraid of the adverse reactions of local inhabitants and fear that they will not be re-elected. However, experience has shown that if the process and implementation of regulated parking are well managed, citizens will appreciate its benefits. People will begin to value public space more and transform it into space for all residents and not just car owners. The goal of this paper is to present research in which people were asked what they would motivate them to use a different mode of transport instead of a car. The most common answer was more public transport connections and cheaper traveling or traveling free of charge.