<em>No, the car storage – on street parking – was paid for by residents of decades ago. They still want it.</em>

First, not all residents drive; those of us who don't pay for this resource too. Second, the street parking is still there, you just have to compete with more people for it. Which is what you should expect from a scarce, underpriced resource! 

In cases where there's a better use--a bus lane, for instance--I think parking should be re-purposed to provide more value for more people. But the vast majority of it should just stay what it is, that's fine. I just object to forcing other people to buy stuff they don't want so certain people can have privileged extra-convenient access to a scarce shared resource. That's ridiculous. If you use free street parking, you're taking a risk convenient spots might not be available on demand. If you need more convenience/certainty than that, pay for it.