Decatur Certainly Not Alone In Parking Debate
Decatur Metro | September 22, 2008Chris sends along this AP article about a debate in D.C. and other major U.S. cities that sounds all too familiar. A must read for all the 315 West Ponce fanatics out there!
Here’s the money quote…
Some cities have switched directions altogether, replacing the minimum requirement with a cap on the maximum allowable number of parking spaces. London and San Francisco began making the shift decades ago. San Francisco is currently considering extending the new approach to more neighborhoods.
Activists say too much parking is required even in New York City, particularly outside Manhattan. In August, a coalition of environmental groups said existing parking minimums would boost traffic and cancel out much of the expected improvements from the city’s green initiatives.
The D.C. proposal would eliminate minimum parking requirements with some exceptions. Caps on parking would also be established.
In old D.C. neighborhoods like Capitol Hill and Georgetown, where parking is scarce, opponents of the change fear that if new homes don’t provide off-street spots, competition for on-street parking will worsen.
I guess in the mass-transit starved land that is Atlanta, shared parking is our version of parking caps.
And the question ultimately becomes, do we as a city want to remain progressive in terms of future transit options (outlined in the community trans plan) or should we follow in the footsteps of our predecessors and continue to cater to the considerable outside pressures of the almighty auto?
I come down firmly on the side of choices. A community is healthier and more sustainable — economically, socially and environmentally — when it fosters diversity of all types. The strongest Decatur will welcome the folks who want a single family home with a yard (disclosure: I am one of them), but it will also welcome the person who wants to live upstairs from the action; the person who wants to own and the person who (yes, they exist) wants to rent; the person who loves the freedom *of* their car and the person who loves the freedom *from* their car; folks looking to upsize and folks looking to downsize. The whole gamut.
Right now, our deck is no-doubt stacked in favor of the single family, car dependent crowd. We require continued progressive efforts simply to level the playing field.
It ain’t easy, as the furor over 315 demonstrates. But it’s worth it. Putting blinders on and only addressing the here and now can really screw up your tomorrow.