Downtowns Still Need Parking

For three decades, Bill Keller owned a downtown retail business, served on various planning and redevelopment boards, built an expertise in parking issues, and gained the respect of everyone with whom he came in contact. While no parking retrograde, he felt compelled (if somewhat sheepishly) to write an op-ed reminding people, urbanists in particular, that parking still fills an important need in America's downtowns. Keller concedes that residential minimum parking requirements, particularly along transportation corridors, need to be lessened. However, until America's downtowns achieve the density and transit infrastructure to support their retail sectors, parking is still important to providing a diverse mixed-use urban environment.  

He also notes that type and configuration are as important as supply. For example, high turn-over and proximity to retail are important. Modernized parking meters that ensure turn-over, accept credit cards, are programmable, and in some locations, offer dynamic pricing—all are important to supporting businesses. In turn, ensuring parking has a reliable and adequate revenue stream to facilitate state of the art, efficient, and effective parking, will not only help retail businesses, but also help to eliminate surface parking lots. By example, he notes: 

In Downtown San Diego, for example, street parking has been increased by switching from parallel to angled or perpendicular spaces.  And meter revenue will soon be used to underwrite creation of 200 new spaces below East Village Green [underneath the park].

Keller is even able to invoke Jane Jacobs words to support his reminder. 

[Jacobs] did say:  “There must be a sufficiently dense concentration of people…” And:  “The district must serve more than one primary function; preferably more than two.  These must insure the presence of people who go outdoors on different schedules and are in the place for different purposes, but who are able to use many facilities in common.”

This result requires some suburbanites, both customers and employees. For Keller's full op-ed, please see the source article