Quote:
Originally Posted by Just-In-Cali
Whoa...simmer down there sparky,
First..I have passed DOZENS of big ugly parking structures in SanFran, DC has lots of underground parking, and Chicago has towering parking structures in its core, NEXT to attractions. But that wasnt my point. My point is, as much as we would love to believe the "if you build it, they will come" mentality, the fact is, 17 some million people are spread across thousands of square miles without an extensive public transport to reach them, hence, they will drive. I know how my friends from the burbs are. They dont wanna go through a huge "search and seek" everytime they go somewhere, so having dedicated parking at the facility is not a bad thing. How many spaces do they need? Thats for them to decide, but Im not gonna freak out, spit nails, write angry blogs posts everytime someone ads several dozen parking spaces to an, as not yet built, project. As for the thousands of open parking spaces open at night? Yeah, I always plan my museum trips from 9 PM to midnight. Not gonna start an arguement, but Im trying to be slightly practical. Again...IT CAN BE CHANGED.
|
The piece you're missing is that mass transit needs to be (and is) developed hand in hand with reducing parking. You remove parking, making it difficult for people to park at their destination, and at the same time you give them the means to arrive at said destination in ways besides cars.
And no, you can't even begin to compare LA's level of parking with DC's. I lived in the District for 6 years before moving to LA, so I consider myself as good a judge as any. For one, DC is in the process of
removing their parking minimums completely. What is the minimum for LA residential buildings? 2? 2.5?
Secondly, there are next to no parking lots, and I could count the number of above-ground parking structures in the entire District on one hand. DC has strict urban design guidelines, and when a building offers structured parking, its always underground, preventing the parking from screwing up the design of the block.
Lest you think DC "is an East Coast city...LA could never be the same way", I disagree. Metro in DC changed everything. Previous to that, DC had the same driving culture as LA. DC might have a dense core, but it also has some of the most sprawling suburbs in the country, far out into MD and VA. As the Metro system was built out, the culture changed. Now, for suburbanites taking a trip into the city, you'll find that they're just as likely to take the Metro in as they are to drive.
There's no reason the same change can't happen here. There's nothing exceptional or different about LA that would prevent the same sea change from occuring. DC just did it 25 years earlier. LA's Metro is still being built out, and it takes a long time to get people's behavior to change. But it will. In the meantime, the longer we keep catering to the status quo (more, bigger, structured parking, everywhere), the more we'll keep getting the car culture we're trying to get rid of. You build for the city you want, not for the city you have. That's proactive, not reactive planning.
Threaded Mode