Readers Would Change Downtown On-Street Parking

In the poll last week two-thirds of the voters would like to see a change in the on-street parking policy. A third selected no change:

Q: On-street parking downtown should be…

1. as is, free after 7pm & weekends 46 [33.33%]
2. free after 5pm & weekends 38 [27.54%]
3. Other: 10 [7.9%]
4. paid 24/7: 9 [6.52%]
5. paid until 5pm, 7 days a week 9 [6.52%]
6. free 24/7: 7 [5.07%]
7. paid until 7pm, 7 days a week 7 [5.07%]
8. paid until 9pm, 7 days a week 7 [5.07%]
9. paid until 9pm weekdays, free on weekends 3 [2.17%]
10. unsure/no opinion 1 [0.72%]
11. removed to provide more driving lanes 1 [0.72%]

The problem? No consensus among the two-thirds that voted for a change. The biggest response for change is lowering the free period from 7pm to 5pm weekdays, keeping weekends free. In my opinion we need to go toward more paid time to discourage driving and to turn over the spaces for use by other drivers.

The other answers provided were:

1. Set at the precise amount where the supply and demand curve meet by 4 hr periods
2. free for downtown residents
3. Priced to promote maximum occupancy
4. keep as is, but offer monthly parking passes for downtown residents.
5. congrestion pricing
6. free after 7pm, Sundays and Holidays
7. I’ll pay, just sucks when your car gets broken into b/c police sux in the city
8. Need to install credit card machines. People rarely carry loose change.
9. variable, based on supply & demand
10. paid twice current rate to fund demolition of historic buildings

Add any additional thoughts in the comments below.

– Steve Patterson

Poll: Thoughts on On-Street Parking Downtown

The expectation of drivers to get free parking amuses me. You think the you don’t end up paying for the massive parking garages at malls like The Galleria & West County Center?

Parking downtown is very cheap but still some advocate completely free parking on the street.  The argument is downtown must compete with the malls and big box centers. Really? They are different animals. Downtown isn’t going to win big box shoppers and  the mall isn’t going to win the person seeking character & history. We could pay someone to park but the Bed, Bath & Beyond shopper still wouldn’t come downtown.

Now that we are into the holiday shopping season I figured downtown on-street parking is a good poll topic. The poll is in the right sidebar.

– Steve Patterson

Patronize Local Stores on Black Friday if You’re Shopping

The great thing about  not having any money is I have no need to subject myself to the crowds of people trying to get a cheap flat-screen television at midnight.

But part of me is tempted to take transit to places the The Galleria Mall just to see the vast areas of surface parking on the only day of the year that much parked is needed.

If I were shopping it wouldn’t be at a generic mall. I’d be at a locally owned store so my money would stay in the community. What are your thoughts on Black Friday & Cyber Monday?

-Steve Patterson

US Bank Garage Need Not Be Razed, Just Rethought

In May 2010 I  wrote that the US. Bank parking garage at 8th & Washington Ave should be replaced with something urban, with windows and doors. Since then I’ve spent more time looking at the design of the garage and I think it can be made less hideously oppressive through some relatively simple changes.

The upper levels of the garage could be screened with metal panels or even plant material. My biggest concern is the sidewalk level.

Horrible, but this appears to be just a storage area based on what I can tell from the inside of the garage. There is a vent extending to the roof in the NW corner of the garage so some sort of equipment may be located in the space.

The material at the sidewalk facing both Washington Ave and 8th are non-structural.  My thinking is the storage space become a small storefront space with glass walls facing each sidewalk. Outside add a few cafe tables & chairs plus an umbrella or two and the corner is humanized.

– Steve Patterson

Where is Vito’s Disabled Parking?

Vito’s Sicilian Pizzeria & Ristorante has been at Lindell and Grand as long as I’ve been in St. Louis. They loved to their current location in the 90s when Saint Louis University bought & razed the building they were in at the NE corner of Grand and Lindell.

Building codes and the American’s with Disabilities Act have long required designated disabled parking when you have a parking lot. Which makes me wonder how Vito’s got away with not having a disabled space when they moved into their current location following a major rehab of the building.

I know no reason the city would have exempted Vito’s from the requirement in the building code.

The building and parking lot is owned by Saint Louis University, but that shouldn’t matter either. These pics were taken before 11am on a weekday so there is no shortage of close parking.  But at noon it’s a different story.  On weekend nights the metered spaces are taken for valet, $5 with restaurant validation. Do they have a permit for valet on the public road?

– Steve Patterson