Comments on: Strategic Plan To-Do List: Commercial Character

By: UDog

UDog — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 16:30:18 +0000

That parking lot has been there since the 40′s. I’m not sure what was there before that. It was the parking lot for the Belk Gallant department store that is now occupied by Eddies Attic, Several Dancers Core and DeKalb Workforce. That store was unique in that it had 3 entrances, one on N. McDonough below Eddies Attic, one on Sycamore where Several Dancers Core is now and one from the parking lot. It had 2 “urban” sidewalk storefronts and one “suburban” parking lot storefront. I think the store closed in the early 70′s. The building and lot is owned by Gwinnett Industries.

By: decaturite16

decaturite16 — Thu, 03 Feb 2011 21:55:51 +0000

Need to fill in the gaps along Church Street to link the square with other potential commercial areas. The ugly pay parking lot just south of Johnny’s is a particular problem. Anyone know what used to be there and what the city could do to encourage redevelopment of that lot?

By: Marshall

Marshall — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 20:42:07 +0000

Not sure what time of day your are going downtown, but the Courthouse and/or county office parking lots are always free after 5PM and on weekends.

Those are thousands of unused spots right there.

By: Ronda

Ronda — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 18:35:36 +0000

I’d be happy to keep my car out of the central commercial area if there were some low-cost place to put it. I live over 2 miles from the square but try to patronize local businesses. Sometimes this is impossible because there is no place to park. If I’m lucky, there may be a meter somewhere and I can have lunch or do my shopping for only $2.00 worth of quarters – but of course there is that time limit on the meter.

By: Marshall

Marshall — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 17:30:36 +0000

Creating massive amounts of unecessary on-site parking (as Decatur code currently requires)by its very nature stifles walkability. In order for things to be walkable there needs to be density, storefronts need to be close to the street (parking needs to be behind buildings), and pedestrians need to visually be a be able to see an interesting streetscape to feel like distances are not so great. Think about how much further distances seem when there is nothing to see or do along the way. When we create space for parking, rather than other uses, walkability is ruined.

Nobody is saying that we should necessarily reduce parking in downtown Decatur, or believe that suddenly people are going to ditch their cars and walk everywhere or take transit. But what we are saying is that the on site parking requirements that Decatur requires are not condusive to our values – hence all of the variances in recent years. What we are saying is that Decatur is different and we do not want our developement to fit suburban style planning that HDog seems to want. We want to create an urban environment and on-site parking requirement are not condusive to such.

People do still need a place to park, but what we need to do is recognize the benefits of shared parking, public parking facilities, on-street parking, etc. when looking at parking requirements instead of just on-site parking. There is plenty of parking in Decatur, and we can maintain our small town feel even with new development, so long as we are creative about parking requirements and utilizing the massive amount of parking we already have in Decatur.

By: Decatur Metro

Decatur Metro — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 15:26:53 +0000

“Decatur sexisting tree canopy”.

Is it pollen season already??

By: treesrock

treesrock — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:21:23 +0000

I have read the plan in more depth and saw that the word “tree” was mentioned 9 times, that is only one less than “parking”! Most impressive is task 13A: Create an urban forest management plan to assess Decatur’sexisting tree canopy, recommend strategies for protection, maintenance. And for a cherry on top I have heard the City was recently appointed a “Tree City USA” designation.
The process does work! Great job Decatur.

By: karass

karass — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 13:28:09 +0000

If this is sound advice arboreally, I hope the City considers it. I agree completely that trees make a huge difference in the ambience of a downtown–I’m thinking of all the palms on almost every street and yard in Los Angeles. Even run-down areas have an exotic feel to them. Or stately New England towns (which were even more stately before all the elms were killed with blight).