Posted on 01/09/2013 3:04:26 PM PST by Jonx6
Austin might soon ditch a three-decade-old policy of requiring downtown buildings and tenant businesses to have a minimum number of parking spaces tied either to square footage or the number of condos and apartments in a building.
Supporters of the move say the minimum requirement has caused a parking surplus downtown, encouraging people to use their cars rather than bikes, buses and rail. Take away that requirement, they say, and eventually garage parking will become a more scarce (and expensive) resource, encouraging people to use alternative transportation.
(excerpt)
(Excerpt) Read more at statesman.com ...
I guess....Chicago now has $6.25 an hour parking meters!!
I wonder how that will work out for them.....
about as much as gun control does
Surplus of parking? Not that I have seen, other than the lots charging $10 per car to park. I refuce to use those, since I can park in metered spaces for free, but often can’t find metered spaces.
Austin does have a light rail. It was shoved down our throats by a small minority and the city council who all wanted to feel smug and superior that Austin would have a ‘green’ transportation option. The light rail cars are empty every time I see them, and of course those who forced the issue are still driving their own cars.
And there is no parking excess downtown, in fact I don't think there much parking at all, at least there wasn't when I was there a year or two ago. I always go downtown so I can look at places where I once lived...altho all I see are mostly big buildings, the homes are gone. It was once so lovely, I lived there in the 1950’s. Wonderful place then, but “you can't go home again”.
It certainly slows my economic activity into downtown Austin. South Austin is much better. I’ve lived here three years, and aside from dropping off other people, have been there for business maybe 3 times.
The people running Austin and Texas don’t want us down there seeing what they’re doing.
You got that right.
I do not shop anywhere that I have to pay for parking
or does not have access to parking.
The building with which I was associated had far more than minimum required by city code, and the "excess" parking served us well as a "loss leader"; the building remained fully leased, or nearly so.
Now, if Austin were to institute a maximum parking space limit for every private office or residential building, then you'd have a major problem, especially in that the city is already competing with private parking providers in the form of metered on-street parking, municipal (taxpayer-funded, in other words) parking decks and lots, and mass transit.
One more problem for owners/operators of private real estate: hefty taxes, over and above property taxes, imposed on parking. Make parking expensive by creating artificial shortages and high taxes, and that spiffy new light rail or streetcar line starts to look more attractive.
Yes, and the knee-jerk reaction here in support of more regulation of business and development instead of less is pretty disappointing. If a real estate developer thinks it makes business sense to construct a building without parking, why should the government stand in the way?
This is all part of mayor Shelly Lee Leffingwell (yes, HIS first name is Shelly) and the Austin silly council to FORCE people to use pubic transportation. It started years ago with the “smart growth plan” by a previous mayor.
I hate the Capital Metro bus system. I had jury duty for Travis county and had to take a bus to the courthouse. Sure, it drops you off less than two blocks away, but the bus stopped at every telephone pole to take a leak, like a dog does at trees.
You got that right, and Texas needs a divorce from the union and let them have the Austin libs.
Same thing with roads. Given the amount of taxes as we pay there should not be ANY toll roads as that is a legitimate government function. I absolutely detest toll roads
This reminds me of the 1970s and Austin’s solution to too much traffic:
Don’t build more roads.
I looked at the previous replies and all are correct, but it is not faster than by car. A local TV station sent a crew to Leander where it originates and put a crew on the train during rush hour traffic.
The TV crew in the car got downtown about 30 minutes faster to the end of the choo choo train line. BTW, 183 and Loop 1 are parking lots during rush hour. Trust me, I drove that route for over 20 years.
“I do not shop anywhere that I have to pay for parking”
—
You are obviously not a city shopper.
I love cities and prefer them to malls,so I pay for parking or use public transportation.
.
Yep. Which is probably what they should do ASAP anyway.
I don't know if you listen to Mark, Ed, and SGT Sam in the morning on KLBJ, but everyone in Austin should be begging for single member districts with the election being in Nov to coincide with state / national elections. The Austin silly council knows that would be the death of the liberal agenda they want for the city.
Well, for a bus pass it’s a very reasonable $30/mo. The train is $1 for a trip. Gets me downtown in 30 minutes as opposed to 45 on the bus. All in all, mass transit is the best way to get around if you’re trying to make every penny count. That money I don’t spend on gas or insurance I can devote to beer.
“Beer is proof that God loves us and wants us to be happy.”
-— Ben Franklin
Who am I to argue with one of our founding fathers?
After the secession can we please move Austin to Nuevo York or maybe near Baltimore?
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