Quote:
Originally Posted by Syndic
Downtown is for people, not cars. You should expect to travel by a method other than car when you get downtown. You can't expect to park nearby your destination. This isn't the suburbs.
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Agreed. As the city further densifies and hopefully urban rail comes along, this will become even more true. In most European city centers, people do not park downtown.. If they're not walking, biking, or using mass transit, they park on the edges and take a bus in (park and ride systems). That's the way it should be in a dense urban environment.
Austin has realized that and has been redeveloping hideous surface parking lots with great new buildings. Also added new bikes, bus lanes downtown for MetroRapid, and widened sidewalks. 2nd St. is such a pleasant place to walk now due to large sidewalks, slowed car traffic, and street life (cafes that spill onto the sidewalk) and retail storefront.