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Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

washingtonpost.com

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Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#21

Post by arethuza »

BrainInAJar wrote: post #16
Shivetya wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

and much more weather dependent. As long as the businesses if the affected area do not mind the change I see little reason to not do it.

Vancouver in the winter is rainy and cold, but a refusal to cater to motorists (most of whom are from the suburbs anyway) hasn't negatively impacted businesses, and if anything has positively impacted them

Similarly Edinburgh - which is pretty damp, chilly and dark over the winter has had quite a few bars and restaurants invest in outside seating areas in tents on the street - particularly on George Street (where I work).

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#22

Post by moron4hire »

linkregister wrote: post #14
moron4hire wrote: post #13

Philadelphia does not have a very good public transit system. It's fine if all you want to do is get to the center of the city, but to actually travel around the city it sucks. And parts of Philadelphia have a severe parking problem. I'm convinced that the only reason South Philadelphia works is because 1/4 to 1/2 of its population isn't at home at any one point in time. It's like sailors hot-bedding on a submarine.…

South Philly parking works because double- and triple- parking is practiced (and permitted by the parking authorities in neighborhoods). Just write your cell phone number on a piece of paper, place it on your dash, and go inside. It's amazing how little this is practiced in other cities that should utilize available parking to its maximum. Thankfully, my city has a better public transit system than SEPTA. At the very…

I think you've just gotten lucky, because I've gotten plenty of tickets in South Philly for being one inch past the "park between these signs" signs. I got a ticket once because I was parked

    [ here ] [ ]
and the parking enforce had the order of the signs screwed up and thought I should be parked

    [ ] here [ ]

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#23

Post by abandonliberty »

moron4hire wrote: post #13

Philadelphia does not have a very good public transit system. It's fine if all you want to do is get to the center of the city, but to actually travel around the city it sucks. And parts of Philadelphia have a severe parking problem. I'm convinced that the only reason South Philadelphia works is because 1/4 to 1/2 of its population isn't at home at any one point in time. It's like sailors hot-bedding on a submarine.…

That's arguably a false dilemma caused by our transportation infrastructure.

In terms of waste - if we did the math, I'm pretty sure we would find curbside parking a very poor use of real estate in high rent areas.

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#24

Post by moron4hire »

eli wrote: post #15
goblin89 wrote: post #2

In Chiang Mai near Chang Phueak Gate a sizeable paved area in front of a few mini-stores and a Ford dealership every day after 6 PM turns from parking space into busy street food market. Struck me as efficient use of space.

I think it's pretty common to use downtown parking lots for events on weekends. I know DC also has "rush hour lanes" -- parking spots that turn into a lane of traffic during rush hour.

It also doesn't help that Philadelphia's property taxes are based on decades-old property value assessments, and instead of reassessing buildings, they just jack up the property tax rate. If you build a new building today, you'll get murdered in taxes. That's assuming you don't get murdered on the union labor, or murdered by the unions if you try to avoid using union labor.

So in DC, there isn't as much residential property in the city proper. It's a lot of grandiose buildings meant more for showing off the might of the empire than for fitting in lots of people. Also, the housing tends to be newer, more vertically scaled, with their own parking garages. In Philadelphia, people hold rallies to block construction of parking garages.

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#25

Post by wahsd »

Here we go with privatizing public resources and assets again. It galls me to hear moronic, self-serving corrupt things like "...the growing economic case for deploying our streets differently, for use by more than cars." In a capitalist predatory economy and society like ours public resources and assets should almost never be used for private purposes, especially not for private profit, gain, or benefit of any kind. Whether it is clogging up the city of Austin for the monkey shit show that SXSW has turned into, or taking over public parking spaces for private enterprise profit it's corrupt misappropriation and misuse of public resources and funds. It's simply corrupt and the government, on all levels, should not be engaged in commercial revenue generation precisely because it invites corruption.

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#26

Post by moron4hire »

abandonliberty wrote: post #23
moron4hire wrote: post #13

Philadelphia does not have a very good public transit system. It's fine if all you want to do is get to the center of the city, but to actually travel around the city it sucks. And parts of Philadelphia have a severe parking problem. I'm convinced that the only reason South Philadelphia works is because 1/4 to 1/2 of its population isn't at home at any one point in time. It's like sailors hot-bedding on a submarine.…

That's arguably a false dilemma caused by our transportation infrastructure. In terms of waste - if we did the math, I'm pretty sure we would find curbside parking a very poor use of real estate in high rent areas.

I agree that curbside parking is stupid. But Philadelphians refuse to allow new parking garages to be built. Curbside parking is often the only parking that is available, and any attempts to make other parking become rallying cries in political campaigns thanks to NIMBYism.

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#27

Post by avelis »

One of the cities this is popular in is San Francisco. And the data the article suggests is correct. If you don't have to worry about taking a car to park, you are more likely to spend more time in a local area with businesses available to spend your disposable income.

The second benefit is creating a sense of place. The place to see or the place to hangout in. This personal behavior of a local population can transform a regional neighborhood into a vibrant culture and/or community.

Great post!

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#28

Post by icebraining »

wahsd wrote: post #25

Here we go with privatizing public resources and assets again. It galls me to hear moronic, self-serving corrupt things like "...the growing economic case for deploying our streets differently, for use by more than cars." In a capitalist predatory economy and society like ours public resources and assets should almost never be used for private purposes, especially not for private profit, gain, or benefit of any kind.…

In a capitalist predatory economy and society like ours public resources and assets should almost never be used for private purposes

So, in non-capitalist economies, they should? :)

I find your rant misguided. Parking spaces are public resources being used for private benefits, i.e., for car owners. As a member of the "inferior" class of transit and foot travelers, I see no reason why your private use trumps any other.

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#29

Post by chc »

bradleyjg wrote: post #12
chc wrote: post #6

It seems like roughly the same goal could have been achieved by condemning a comic book store and turning the space into a park. Is there anything to this article that isn't just the observation "People like to go where parks are" repurposed into anti-car propaganda?

The city already owns the parking spots. No need to condemn anything. Just change the use. It isn't anti-car propaganda to point out that huge swaths of valuable public real estate are dedicated to providing free storage for empty cars, and to suggest that there are other uses that would be more beneficial to more people.

> The city already owns the parking spots. No need to condemn anything. Just change the use.

OK, I'll be more explicit: I don't see any evidence that parking lots are special here. It sounds like you could build a park in the place of just about anything else and get the same benefit. It's not clear that this has anything to do with parking lots per se.

> It isn't anti-car propaganda to point out that huge swaths of valuable public real estate are dedicated to providing free storage for empty cars, and to suggest that there are other uses that would be more beneficial to more people.

How is that not an expression of anti-car sentiment? Are you not suggesting making it less convenient to drive cars?

Re: Why parking spaces shouldn't always be wasted on cars

#30

Post by killdill »

BrainInAJar wrote: post #18
ngoel36 wrote: post #7

I wish valet parking was more prevalent. Does the additional real estate space from efficient parking lots/structures justify the labor cost of providing free valet to customers? Of course, the real solution lies in eliminating personal car usage altogether (e.g. Uber)

> Of course, the real solution lies in eliminating personal car usage altogether (e.g. Uber) eg bicycles and walking

or public transport
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