We have long argued and discussed the issue of parking around here. For evidence of that, feel free to check out my 2010 parking introspective entitled, “Parking: Decatur’s Savior of Businesses or Destroyer of Worlds?”
Well, apparently the old parking gripes are rearing their heads again, because the city is looking to debunk some of our most common “parking myths” in the latest Decatur Focus. Here they are, word for word!
Myth: Decatur doesn’t have enough parking.
What you may not know: ere are more than 2,500 public parking spaces in downtown Decatur. at number includes the privately owned parking decks and lots as well as the 300 metered parking spaces that line the streets. ere is plenty of parking, but not all of it is visible from the street. Due to downtown design standards, parking decks have to be wrapped and hidden by the buildings they serve. Also, developers are required to provide parking to meet residential, retail, and commerical uses in the project. So if a mixed-use apartment complex is built on a piece of land that was a parking lot, the development will include the same amount of public parking spaces in its newly built parking garage.
Myth: Decatur charges a lot for on-street parking because it needs the revenue.
What you may not know: On-street parking is not intended to provide a source of revenue
for the city. Instead, it is a form of parking management that discourages long-term use of the most convenient on-street parking by downtown employees and MARTA patrons. When on- street parking is taken up by business owners or employees regularly, they stand to lose thou- sands of dollars per year in potential revenue. Metered spaces are meant for high turnover and customers planning quick trips. Anyone who intends to stay in downtown Decatur for more than two hours should park in one of the public garages, which o er ample parking.
According to Donald Shoup, author of e High Cost of Free Parking, meters should cost more per hour than parking garages to encourage drivers to park o the street. Currently it costs $2 per hour to park at a meter in downtown Decatur, which is the same or less than most of the downtown parking lots and garages.
Myth: Parking should be free.
What you may not know: ere’s really no such thing as free parking. Even if a driver does not have to pay for his/her parking spot, the cost is passed o elsewhere, whether it’s to the tenant or the customers. According to Parking.org, one on-street parking space is valued at $20,000, an above-ground parking space costs an average of $22,688 to construct, and a subterranean parking space costs between $34,000 and $45,000 to construct. Those numbers don’t even take into account the cost of land and maintenance of the park- ing spaces. While parking is a necessity in cities, free parking is not.
Myth: Parking is hard to find in Decatur.
What you may not know: Parking is abundant in Decatur, but not in the form of highly desirable street parking. You’ll nd most parking spaces in one of the privately owned lots and decks around town. For a map of the downtown parking decks, visit decaturga.com/parking.
Myth: the city’s parking attendants give you a ticket as soon as your meter expires.
What you may not know: Decatur has one full-time and two part-time Parking Assistance Liaison with Merchants and Safety (PALS) that work Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. ey monitor all 300 of Decatur’s metered spaces and write parking tickets, but one of their primary responsibil- ities is to serve as ambassadors for Decatur. The turnarounds at North McDonough Street and East Court Square are the most in-demand parking spaces downtown and therefore the most highly monitored spots.
Receiving a ticket for an expired meter can be a frustrating experience. Keep in mind, if you pay to park using the Park Mobile App, you’ll receive a text when your meter is about to expire and have the option of adding more time as long as it is under the two-hour limit.
To learn more about parking in Decatur, visit decaturga.com/parking and download the new parking brochure that lists locations and pricing for all downtown public parking. If you’d like to pick up a hard copy of the brochure, visit the Decatur Visitors Center, 113 Clairemont Ave.
There should be one “free parking” space available daily in COD. If you are lucky enough to park in it, you get all the they money in the kitty, defined as all fines collected by the city that day.
Also if you roll doubles you should get out of jail.
If you park in that “lucky spot” and leave the premises, then do you win the “Golden Boot”?
For the benefit of folks who rely on the City for parking info, I’d really like to see the City tweak its Parking page and future bulletins to include something along the lines of:
Privately Owned Commercial Business Lots *Strictly Enforced*
For the convenience of their customers and for liability reasons, many of the privately owned commercial lots are clearly marked Customer Parking Only with around-the-clock enforcement. Please do not leave the premises after conducting business on the property to avoid booting.
Booting Ordinance link:______________
(On Parking page I’d also move the parking ticket and fines procedures info up under the Parking Meters section to boost awareness ahead of parking.)
* Should be more like: Please do not leave the premises, including after conducting business on the property, to avoid booting.
(That’s still not quite it, but you get the gist. The paid professionals can word it much better.)
Okay, 2 on this list of myth-busting I think misses the point: 1) there’s not enough parking and 2) parking is hard to find. It’s the perception that these are true is the issue. I think the city needs better signage about where to park. When I go to a destination city like Asheville NC the parking decks are easy to find because as soon as you enter the downtown area, you see the P signs with arrows leading you to the various decks. Nice. I don’t think someone driving from Dunwoody to have dinner in Decatur will first check a website about where to park.
AMEN.
I live downtown. People ask where to park ALL THE TIME. They are not trying to avoid paying — they cannot find the decks or the entrances. It’s not obvious to non-Decaturites.
Worst case: I once found Marriott guests trying to card swipe into the Artisan deck. They misinterpreted the directions given by the front desk and drove down the wrong side of the hotel.
There is plenty of parking, but clear obvious signage for visitors is non-existent.
And I wish we’d just eliminate the parking at E. Court Square (by LittleShop, Brickstore). For every car that parks, about 20 more loop around hoping in vain to find one. On somedays you can see how it adds to congestion on Ponce. Reserve all those spots for handicap and metered 15-minute only for dropoff/pickup.
Given that the goal of on-street parking is to not encourage long-term, I would like to encourage the city to consider many more on-street 15 minute-only parking spots (there is one in front of Splash of Olive next to Ted’s). It would make it easier for people to pick up at local businesses.
Completely agree with Diane that folks need to be warned about the strict booting lots. The average person assumes that it’s ok to park in the lot of a store that they are truly patronizing, then do a quick errand elsewhere, and then return. They don’t even read the warning signs because they are sure that what they are doing is kosher. What they don’t understand is that the lot doesn’t exist to serve the store, which is probably just fine with a purchase then a quick errand elsewhere; it exists to profit the owner of the lot.
And I agree with Just me that myth busting and web site info is not enough. Signage like what Asheville has is a good idea. If people only learn about the strict booting lots by painful experience, they will not return to patronize local businesses.
“What they don’t understand is that the lot doesn’t exist to serve the store, which is probably just fine with a purchase then a quick errand elsewhere; it exists to profit the owner of the lot.”
The owners’ goals are to keep their tenants’ businesses profitable by ensuring the onsite parking is available to their customers. Otherwise, we’re going to be on here mourning the loss of a favorite business closing up shop due to its customers going elsewhere with easier parking.
There are large signs posted at the entrances plainly spelling out the allowed use of parking spaces– and better than what you’ll find elsewhere. Don’t most of us routinely scrutinize the posted entrance signs in other hot areas like VA Hi and Midtown? It’s the same situation here.
The businesses that opt to rely on on-street parking and pay lots could also help minimize the risk to their customers by including on their sites a “Please don’t park at the neighboring businesses’ private lots when visiting us or you will be booted” message, along with the map of available public parking.
I have not patronized any store in the Sycamore Place shopping area since Castle Parking booted my car and charged me $95 to have it removed. I had shopped in 2 stores then stepped around the corner for 15 minutes. There were no signs where I parked. Castle Parking’s techniques are borderline predatory with young men lurking around waiting for you to make that one fateful step off the property. The least they could do is provide a warning for 1st offenses. There are many options in Decatur so tactics like this could not be good for business in that area.
I have not had my car booted, but after witnessing the distress this practice causes, I contacted CVS last year to voice my concern. The regional manager was not happy with what was happening, but there was nothing he could do. Basically, this is a predatory use of the lot to generate more profit for the mall owner. It doesn’t benefit the businesses. Those people who pompously deride hapless motorists for failing to be psychic, rather than the shady owners of downtown properties who show little to no concern for local businesses, are being deliberately obtuse. I live in Oakhurst, but between driving/parking issues and a general distaste for the smugness of prosperous “Decatur proper”, have started reorienting my understanding of where I live toward East Lake and Kirkwood. The cheery insistence of the faithful that we can all ride bikes or walk ignores the realities of crazy work and family schedules, and the awful weather in summer. For the most part, I leave Downtown to the folks from Gwinnett having an evening out.
Skeptic, you’ve clearly spent lots of time fuming over a variety of things. What you don’t seem to have focused on is why the stepped up enforcement is needed. If you’re interested in learning about it, the booting ordinance was fully discussed at two city commission meetings with plenty of examples cited. City staff, who did not seem at all inclined to support continued booting at the start, concluded that booting is warranted. They also ensured that entrance signs will fully spell out the parking rules. (That part was worthy of a Portlandia or Parks & Rec episode– I’m surprised the signs didn’t end up being 10′ tall! :0)
Psychic? I don’t see what is so difficult. Don’t park your car in the lot of a business you are not then patronizing.
Hi Lucretia, sorry to hear you got booted. Not a pleasant experience, for sure. I’m unclear on exactly which lot this was, but hope that the required signs have now been installed. Unfortunately, there’s no way for the booting attendants to know who’s a first time offender. Since it falls on drivers to understand and abide by the rules of wherever they park, and it’s the privately owned commercial lots that are throwing folks for a loop, it’d be good to figure out ways to increase overall awareness. That’s why I’m encouraging the City and businesses to highlight that the rules of the privately owned commercial lots are strictly enforced.
Where is “Sycamore Place” shopping area?
Sorry I called you Diane. Dang spell check!
I’m more flustered over the change in my quilt identifier! I’m s’posed to be purple! :0/
Re Downtown Decatur parking becoming like “hot areas like VA Hi and Midtown”. I hope we’re not becoming too much like VA HI and Midtown. That would be a wrong turn, IMHO. I stopped going to either of those places to eat or shop decades ago. I understand that it’s a tricky business keeping Mayberry-meets-Berkeley afloat economically but Mayberry-meets-VA HI/Midtown is not where I want to live. Mayberry-meets-Marin/Westchester County isn’t it either. Dang, I liked Mayberry-meets-Berkeley.
I wish the parking areas were in red and the city landmarks circles were in purple. My eye goes straight to the red dots, thinking they indicate parking. No wonder it’s so hard to park at the library/rec center deck!
There’s no such thing as a free lunch?