Quote:
Originally Posted by homebucket
Actually, upon further examination, is the parking really needed? It seems like there's already several large lots at the B Street Pier to the north, Tuna Harbor Park to the south, and at Pacific/Broadway to the east. Not to mention the Santa Fe Train Depot and American Plaza Trolley Station are a short 5-10 minute walk away. I imagine the future IQHQ RaDD is also going to incorporate plenty of parking.
I can't imagine why they would spend so much money and effort to redevelop the pier only to plop down another surface parking lot right in the middle of the park. It just ruins the whole vibe. If you look at other similar pier/waterfront redevelopment plans around the country, you'd be hard pressed to find many, if any, that incorporates such blatant autocentricity into what should be a pedestrian only place. Honestly, the more I look at it, the more I view this as a swing and a miss. I hope they take this back to the drawing board.
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ADA law more or less mandates at least some parking be provided on the pier. You're not going to get away with telling all the old grandpas with their walkers to go park across the street.
It also looks like the museum needs truck access? They really went out of their way to ensure an eighteen wheeler can pull up right next to the ship.
Even if neither of those were true, there'd still be a ton of pressure to include parking. The B Street Pier doesn't allow access while a cruise ship is docked. IQHQ will undoubtedly charge a premium to park in their fancy underground lot. That only leaves Tuna Harbor, and with the level of traffic the Midway gets that might lead to a bit of a squeeze. Then you'll get complaints from visitors, maybe even have the Coastal Commission on your butt for "hindering public access".
All of which probably could be figured around, but the path of least resistance is just to provide parking. I wouldn't expect the Midway to be looking to generate controversy, so while the design might change that's the direction I'd expect them to go no matter what.