A study released last week ranking Boston as the fifth worst city for parking might not come as a surprise — but there's a solution being championed by Boston officials: Offer less parking.

The city has slowly relaxed requirements that parking be built with every new residence. The goal is to encourage other means of transportation besides a car. But not everyone is on board, including some residents who say lofty intentions don’t quite gel with practical needs.

This isn’t your typical condo building under construction here near North Station. When completed early next year, the building — part of the larger Lovejoy Wharf project — will be the city’s first condo development without onsite parking.

"The key issue for us, really, is convenience: convenience for residents who come to live in the new building and, really, convenience also for the people who already live in the neighborhood," said Vineet Gupta of the Boston Transportation Department.

Gupta says Lovejoy Wharf reflects a city that’s getting younger.

"Many of these younger people are moving into Boston, into these new buildings and the statistics show that they are less prone to own a car," he said. "This doesn’t mean there’s no parking in the building. It just means that there’s less demand for cars."

City research shows that more Bostonians are biking, walking or taking public transit to get to work, while the number of registered vehicles has dropped. That’s prompted city officials to rethink parking requirements.

"Most developers who want to build in Boston understand that they need to strike balance," Gupta said. "And sometimes if they have less parking, then we make sure that they have an agreement with a garage across the street."

But some city residents say dropping onsite parking requirements will just make the problem worse.

"There is a percentage of people who are really gonna be very vigorous about that," said Charlie Vasiliades, a life-long Brighton resident who serves on the board of a local affordable housing nonprofit. "You know, do the Zipcars, do the bike-shares. But I think a lot of people, once they get married or have kids, I think it’s actually underestimating what people are gonna need for parking."

It was Allston that was supposed to house Boston’s first parking-free apartment building — a five-story structure planned for this parcel on North Beacon Street. But after opposition from residents, developers added 35 parking spaces.

"It's kind of sticking your head in the sand to say that, 'Cars are bad. Put them away,'" he Vasiliades said. "I'm not a person who likes driving. I’d rather be on a bus or train, but there are times you can’t."

Gupta says the city and developers recognize that need and that their goal is not to erase all cars from Boston’s streets.

"The idea here is to encourage public transportation, but have the car available when you really need it," he said. "Sometimes, you need to take a car to go to a grocery store."

Lovejoy Wharf’s new residents will learn pretty quickly whether that philosophy works.