My daughter, now 21, has spent the past year as a leery participant in Salt Lake City’s unofficial experiment with an apartment boom that hasn’t included many places to park. She and two others rented an apartment close to a light-rail line downtown. Once they signed the yearlong lease, they learned the parking they were told they could rent would be available for just one of them. Or they could take turns. Or something.

Salt Lake City’s not alone in not requiring new apartment construction to include at least one parking spot per unit, as long as the abode is located near public transportation. Other cities are also having a rental boom and are pushing people to use public transportation more. That’s an understandable goal.

But for a lot of people, simply telling them to be car-free doesn’t work. Many people who have cars do park them and use public transportation, but they may require the use of that car at least sometimes. Others may require a car for employment with shifts that don’t coincide with the hours public transportation runs or to do frivolous things like shop or visit a doctor at locations not convenient to reach by existing public transportation.

It’s a huge issue on the side streets near North Temple, for example, as hundreds of residents try to figure out where to put their cars since their housing option won’t accommodate it. They’d pay extra, but don’t even have the option.

Eight or more times last year, my daughter circled and circled, then spent the night at my house because she could park there and I fortunately lived somewhat close. Far more routinely, she parked a half-mile or so from her home and walked to her apartment when she got off work, after midnight. That left her alone on mostly deserted streets, which carries its own set of issues.

When people are mugged or assaulted, we sometimes ask why they put themselves at risk. I routinely curse the forces I feel put my daughter at risk.

I’ve been pondering this for a while. Last night, I saw that one of the local news stations had a piece on the parking dilemma faced by at least hundreds of people in downtown Salt Lake City. It’s actually a problem for many, many more people in different parts of the country. And it deserves some attention.

I applaud efforts to get people to use more public transportation for many reasons, including the boost to clean air efforts. And who doesn’t want to reduce crashes and the clog of rush-hour traffic?

But this only works if the buses and trains run often enough and late or early enough to accommodate the people who work different shifts. Transportation systems must be robust enough to reach where people must go without forcing them to walk further than is reasonable — and many people living downtown here and elsewhere work and study in locations that are not convenient to reach except with a car. It only works if the people who have to use public transportation can afford the cost. Maybe those building apartments without any access to parking should share the cost of public transportation.

Transportation systems must be robust enough to reach where people must go without forcing them to walk further than is reasonable.

Incentives to go car-free might be more helpful than simply demanding it. And if cities are going to force people by providing fewer spaces, at the very least they should delineate the spots to maximize what’s available. I’ve seen people park not quite a car length apart. Maddening.

KUTV reported this city now makes more revenue from parking tickets. If it’s serious about getting people into public transportation, that bounty should be poured into making public transit work for more people and into building parking options not too far away for people who really need cars at least sometimes.

My daughter gets off work from one job and goes to another while the transit system sleeps. When her lease ends, she’s moving.