Quote:
Originally Posted by gymratmanaz
....and Phoenix is the largest city in the country. Even if you live mainly downtown day to day, traveling anywhere in the valley requires a car. I am not sure why some don't like parking levels. When done correctly, they often add a different texture to a building's look. Also, if you have ground level retail, especially a bar or other loud business, the parking levels create a sound barrier to the upper living floors.
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I’ve tried to explain this in previous discussions, but the message doesn’t seem to get through. I’ll beat my head against the wall one more time and try to explain:
First, it’s simply not true that “traveling anywhere in the valley requires a car.” For someone who lives downtown, it’s possible to shop for groceries, mail a package, or visit a doctor via walking or public transit. For those trips that do require a car, an occasional rental or rideshare trip can be more cost-effective than owning a car.
Second, when we endlessly repeat the myth that a car is needed to live in Phoenix, we send up creating a self-fulfilling prophecy. People are told they need a car, so they make sure to have one. Once the cost has been sunk in owning a car, they want to use it as much as possible to obtain a return on investment. If, on the other hand, we stop assuming a car is required for everyday life, then people can sort out on their own when they do and do not actually need a car.
In terms of architecture, I suppose a few parking podiums (podia?) might be executed well enough to add distinctiveness to a building, but they’re the exceptions. Most are butt ugly, and their entrances and exits create yet more curb cubs to degrade the pedestrian experience at street level. For the residents, if the parking is bundled into rent, then everyone pays more for housing, whether they need or want a car.
If Phoenix wants to move forward to the next level of urban vitality, it should abandon all parking minimums within the light rail corridor and allow market forces to determine the optimal amount of parking and how it is priced.