Maybe it's just me, but this doesn't sound realistic at all. If there is a place where I would spend eight minutes looking for parking, I would rather not go. And that's average, meaning some people spending twice as much? 16 minutes to look for parking? Who would do that?
What happens when that place is your own home?
Do you routinely cancel necessary appointments or meetings with friends because you cannot find parking?
Eight minutes sounds excessive, but I don't think it's as uncommon as people think. Sitting at a traffic light or circling a single city block can take five minutes. There are paid parking structures which take ten minutes to enter, find a space, park, and then exit the structure.
I virtually always have a more convenient parking spot than the best car parking spot, and it's always available, always free, bc my scooter takes 6 square feet to park, or less, and is freakishly maneuverable.
Ppl think it's a strange choice, but I think that sentiment says more about them than me.
I have a mall 10 minutes biking away. "Why bike when it's only a 5 minute drive?", well, because I've locked my bike at the entrance while you're still circling for parking, and then you have a walk to get inside. And my biking is consistent, but driving at the wrong time suddenly takes 20 minutes home due to rush.
EDIT: An even better comparison is the number of people who will sit in a parking lot waiting for someone to vacate a spot rather than parking in plentiful available spots another 50-100 meters away
In my area it’s freezing cold most of the year. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to wait a minute or two for a spot instead of literally walking an extra two football fields in harsh weather. Increased fall risk, etc.
People with legitimate handicaps are the minority of cases (and are eligible for handicap placards entitling them to spaces closer to the entrance), and winter is a strawman. The majority are fully mobile people on summer days in a Walmart or Costco parking lot waiting minutes in a car to save fewer minutes on foot.
I grew up in the midwest when it snowed every winter and the number of times there was actually enough ice on the ground to be significantly more risky walking than on the dryest summer day was at most a few times a year. The areas that get snow know how to plan for snow and ice - especially businesses who don't want to get sued by litigious people.
Sometimes people are in a rush or have somewhere to be. It’s okay to not walk everywhere. You might cal it lazy, I might cal it efficient.
The cardiovascular health of Americans strongly suggests this is not true.
[0] which I acknowledge I'm lucky to have
I lived in a neighborhood ~5 years ago where I didn't have a dedicated parking space. I generally had to park a 10-15 minute walk away from where I lived. Many people would rather just circle for 15 minutes instead.
People like convenience, they don't like being reminded they often have to pay for it.
For example, people are willing to pay more for a dedicated parking space than they are to pay per use - even if they're basically the same.
I spend 6 weeks there last summer. I never drove, and our only cab was to the airport
That said, the inclusion of such BS doesn't really affect the overall point of the article.