Quote:
Originally Posted by MiEncanto
I happen to know the owners.
It simply wasn't doing enough business. Their clientele tend to be older and drive cars. And that part of Roosevelt is the hardest to find parking.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by AZSunHiker
92% of US households have access to at least one car. (see link below). I wonder if lack of convenient free parking is a primary driver for the lagging retail in downtown. It certainly is noticeable that thriving shopping centers like Biltmore, Camelback Colonade, Tempe Marketplace, Scottsdale Fashion Square, and others have plentiful, free, and convenient parking.
Source:
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/...%25),have%20three%20or%20more%20vehicles. |
Quote:
Originally Posted by Obadno
I have never had a serious issue with parking downtown at any time and I go all the time.
The worst thing is having to pay like 10 bucks but its not hard to find. I can usually park for free and walk a few blocks at most
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Parking, shmarking. This is such a weak excuse for business failures and site selection decisions. Sure 92% of households have access to at least one car, but that doesn't mean that car is always used for shopping and dining out. In many households, including my own, it's a car shared by two or more drivers and therefore not always available. In other cases, it's a car used when appropriate but not when a different mode makes more sense. Even the 8% with no car access are a significant portion of a large population.
If businesses try too hard to pander to a whiny desire for free, ubiquitous parking, they're just setting themselves up to fail in an urban market. Instead, they need to make themselves into worthwhile destinations for those willing to walk a few blocks or pay a few bucks if they drive there. There are nearby restaurants like Lom Wong and Taco Chelo in the surrounding neighborhood that are thriving with the same parking constraints. The original Little Miss location on University Drive has limited parking and long lines, but customers have endured those challenges for years.
As for chain retailers, they're doing just fine in many urban centers with far less parking than the surplus that exists in downtown Phoenix. It's not a matter of insufficient parking. It has been a matter of insufficient people. That continues to change for the better, but cautious chains take time to catch up.
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