Quote:
Originally Posted by WilliamTheArtist
The addiction to cars and parking in Dallas just makes you sick. Wonder how and when it will be possible to transition from that to mostly transit and pedestrian friendly development? The thought with some here is, well we don't need to plan for that for if we get enough growth it will happen naturally. Well Dallas has had more growth than Tulsa will likely get for generations and it still hasn't made the transition. If I were building a new building downtown (and I hope to some day) I wouldn't put in a single parking spot. People will get there one way or another, especially if the area is really desirable and attractive, which is what good pedestrian friendly developments create along with lively sidewalks and street life, and yes desire for better transit. It's like people there and here do not know how to create a real city. I am actually hoping that Tulsa begins to avoid this trap.
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This is not a Dallas obsession but a sunbelt city obsession.... been to LA? Take a quick satellite view of the larger cities in the south including Tulsa, OKC, Atlanta, Pheonix and Houston and you will see acres of parking surrounding the downtown towers.
I've heard this theory for years and I don't disagree. However, this the theory works in the cities that already have well established transportation systems (Boston, SF, NYC, Portland..etc). While I strongly believe in infrastructure projects outside of highways - to build that infrastructure is costly and long. The second Dart alignment through downtown is not funded and won't be for sometime limiting Dart's capacity. The city of Dallas does look for more options to expand public transportation (street car lines / extensions / bike lanes) What owners are reacting to is loss of tenants due to the perception in the market. Keep in mind while there is plenty of parking throughout downtown, some people are parking several blocks away. Try walking a November night out to your car after working a late night (7 or 7:30). Its dark, the surface lots have poor lighting / streetscape and there are the occasional homeless / kids up to no good. I've had a couple encounters. Compare that to the bright shiny new parking lots in the burbs with nice landscaping and the Uptown towers that include parking garages it becomes a difficult sell for the property owners downtown.
I don't have an issue with
property owners paying to build garages. IMO, this should have happened a long long time ago ilo of leveling older buildings from the early 1900's to provide surface parking for the glitzy towers of the 80's..... In the end this will provide a number of positives. 1. Owners will become more competitive for tenants and can start raising rents. 2. This will open up more shared parking opportunities for night hours to service retail / restaurants / museums / parks 3. Probably the biggest advantage is the number of lots that will no longer by bound by parking agreements making them more enticing for future development