Parking?? Are We Talking About Parking??

[Rob Sullivan]

Believe it or not, one of the more controversial urban development topics is parking.  So many questions to address:

Should parking be a required piece of any property development?

How much is enough or too much??

Does excess parking increase car use?

Planners are addressing these and many more questions.  Many believe that parking codes are counterproductive. some critics even argues that parking distorts the market for car use.

[Ester Rodriguez]

I can definitley agree with parking being a major issue. My parents own several businesses, and they are located in very tight spaced areas. It is ridiculous how the shops from the commercial strips make the suggest scenes about lack of parking space because customers from other places are taking their spots. And because of these previous experinces I do believe Parking should be included with any property being purchased. Whether it be small or big property purchase parking is a must for vehicles.

Also, just because their is a lot of parking area does not mean that their is a big increase in car usage. For example stadiums have ridiculous amount of parking, but people would rather car pull so finding a parking spot wouldn't be so hard or costly. Popular restaurants also have this issue, people car pull to special occasions even though there is a large amount of parking spaces.    

[Annette Skelton]

Parking is certainly a dividing issue. Especially in sprawling areas where we prefer to drive down to the end of the city block than walk. I myself have been to areas that I had to leave without getting out of my car because I had no place to park. I'm not taking about front door parking but, in this instance, there were no designated areas even nearby for me to leave my car. In this case the businesses lost out because a potential customer drove away.  Therefore, I will say that until we can get a better public transportation system in place, there should be parking areas required. I'm sure as the population continues to grow and land become more scare, we will become more land locked and the parking areas will be phased out for more building, but change doesn't have to come overnight. in fact people adapt to it better if its done incrementally. For now I say that parking should be available and a part of the property development. There should be plenty to allow for what the business can accommodate at the time of development. As I said before, I think, in time, we will have to drive less and walk more because the land will be too valuable that a parking area just won't be feasible and people here will transition to that mindset just as they have in the more densely populated areas of the country.