Council Eyes End to Front Garages

[Bassic Lab]

Originally Posted by Wentworth

I think it probably has more to do with the fact that the density of newer areas is much higher as compared to the neighbourhoods of fifty years ago, e.g.
Copperfield vs. Fairmont

Cougar Ridge vs.

That is definitely part of it. Like I said, the wider lots contribute to the ease of on street parking but they're not the sole cause. I have no difficulty finding a parking spot in the "starter home" sections of newer neighbourhoods. It is even easier to find parking in inner city areas where 25 foot lots have become the norm due to infills despite the fact that I'm sure non-resident parkers take up far more space there than in far flung suburbs.

Also your second pic really showcases the benefits of grid streets with alleys. There is plenty of evidence of infill construction there, not only the four houses on 25 foot lots but a number of the larger single buildings appear to be duplexes. It is also relatively easy to see how small, 3 to 6 storey, apartments buildings would fit into the urban fabric. Good luck promoting further densification in Cougar Ridge.

[halifaxboyns]

When I moved from Halifax, I had never heard of rear lanes and I was really surprised how wide spread they were in Alberta.

I lived in a pretty old neighbourhood in Halifax - all driveways off the street. In fact, my childhood house didn't even have a sidewalk on my street - we were the anomoly street because all the others around me did and we had a school.

I think the context of the street or neighbourhood should dictate whether or not a front driveway is appropriate. If there is a lane and the majority of houses access off the lane - then I think the majority should rule. That being said, I'm torn on the issue because communities that many people value as being diverse have a mix of styles and appearance.

I think the arguement gets simpler when you have a context like one house on a block with a front driveway and everyone else is off a lane -that's when that house becomes a bit of a stand out.

When many of the new communities are planned, most of them have the access determined right away. But I do think it should be one of the other - too many hard surfaces.

I don't believe the city is looking at banning front driveways; but if they do want to push people to use laneways - i'd say house should be moved as far forward as possible (depending on if there are utility right-of-ways).

[Policy Wonk]

Originally Posted by freeweed

Well, rear garages are the only reason you'd ever even NEED (or in my opinion, want) an alley in the first place. But yeah, they definitely should be paved if they're to exist at all. A good part of my distaste for back lanes is having lived on graveled ones.

You should see the alley the next street over from my house, a fucking new Mississippi delta is forming in the street from the alley eroding away and being deposited in the street.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Wentworth

The City needs to pick and choose its battles. The article doesn't make it really clear why the City would want to ban front garages, but if most Calgarians clearly favour this form of housing, I would not go about alienating voters merely on the basis of some marginal hypothetical social benefit to laned housing. The reason some surburbs aren't walkable isn't because they are full of snout houses, it's because there is nowhere to walk to.

To be fair, the City isn't planning on banning front garages. I believe the article was about banning front garages in laned areas. ie: no need to do both on the same property. I don't disagree with this one, that's the ultimate in stupidity and excess pavement.

[freeweed]

Originally Posted by Bassic Lab

That is definitely part of it. Like I said, the wider lots contribute to the ease of on street parking but they're not the sole cause. I have no difficulty finding a parking spot in the "starter home" sections of newer neighbourhoods. It is even easier to find parking in inner city areas where 25 foot lots have become the norm due to infills despite the fact that I'm sure non-resident parkers take up far more space there than in far flung suburbs.

It's funny that you say this because in my experience it's the exact opposite.

With your typical front drive in Calgary, you have room for 2 cars in the garage, 2 on the driveway, and often 4 in the driveway. I'll admit that in places where the driveways just abut each other, there isn't much room for on-street parking - but this is usually alleviated by park/greenspace features and other pieces of excess land that always result from curvilinear design. The few visitors that come always manage to park within 10 houses or so. I've never seen the same vehicle parked on my street more than a few days in a row, ie: not a single resident regularly uses on-street parking.

With laned areas, you're lucky if you can fit 2 cars in the back. The garage sits right next to the lane, so there's no driveway to speak of. The only people who can fit more than 2 cars back there are the ones that have opted to go with a car pad instead of a back yard, and those are few and far between. With the narrow lots these days, you can't even really fit more than 2 cars across, so it's either 2 in a garage or 2 on a pad, AND THAT'S IT. Every other car in the household ends up on the street.

When I lived laned in Silver Springs, there was rarely any available parking on our street. Residents always had one or more cars out there. I know they were residents because 3/4 of them had extension cords running down the front yard in the winter, with elaborate devices to elevate the cord over the sidewalk (I won't even get into how trashy this looks). When I visit friends in "starter" areas (Copperfield is a notorious example as it's very dense) I often have to park several minutes walk away. Everyone just parks out front of their own home, because it's way more convenient than driving all the way around to the back.

When I visit friends that have a front drive.. I just park on their front drive. I'm not sure where you go where you cannot do this.

In cities that don't have these ultra-skinny lots, it works wonderfully. My folks' place in Winnipeg is all front-drive and they have room for nearly 2 cars per house on the street, on average. That's *8* vehicles, per house. It takes a hell of a lot of house parties happening at the same time before parking becomes an issue. I've never seen a back-laned area that even comes close to that.