How to fix parking in a busy town?

The capital expenditure is high but maintenance is low. These places don't require too much, fresh paint once in 10 years and the gate service. The street parking is constantly requires maintenance - we need to fix the roads, the painting, the pavements, separators, meters get broken due to the weather, we have to collect coins, deal with vandals etc. It is expensive.

The underground parking enables more space on the road, safe bike lanes and even place for some trees or bushes. Trees are insanely useful. They reduce noise from cars, help with pollution, provide shadow in the summer, reduce eyestrain.

With modern technologies it is possible to completely automate these underground parking solutions. System can recognize the plate number and accurately track amount of time spent on the parking lot. Scale such system up to a state level and you will get easy and convenient system for consumers. It will reduce amount of traffic, dissolve the stress for everyone. Allowing integration with such system from cars manufacturers will enable real-time routing adjustment and suggestion to park in less busy places, or even full self-driving experience when the car takes you to the destination and then parks somewhere nearby automatically.

Unfortunately modern city development doesn't take the parking issues seriously so we end up with post-factum solutions - giant parking lots next to train stations and a lot of frustrated people. Modern construction codes should require 1 underground parking lot per 4 people staying the building. Once we start building with these codes we will see our streets cleared up from the insanity of double-parking that congest the town.