Quote:
Originally Posted by CAGeoNerd
I drove through the River District yesterday, I had seen construction on the lot at 5th and Bridge Street (across from the Rivermark) and was thinking they were putting up another midrise housing there, but what did I see there instead? A PARKING LOT!  Not even a parking structure, just an ugly, huge, flat parking lot like you'd see in front of a big box store. What the hell!? Doesn't this go against the land use plan for the area, does anyone else have details? What a waste of space, and right when people get off the freeway there too. |
So I live in the area and here's my take. I missed the City Council meetings when this came up a month or two ago but from what I've heard here's how I understand it-
There have been a lot of issues with parking in the area. Parking regulations in TBD are stricter than any part of San Francisco I've ever seen. Many streets have different parking time limits and regulations. Also, the Rivermark and Habitat apartment buildings don't even have 1 dedicated space in their garages for the units they have (ideally this is great on smart growth principles but hasn't been working out well in reality as most people still have 1-2 cars). Many cars have remained parked for days around Garden Park and on adjacent side streets. Signs say 2 hour limit but apartment residents up until recently could get a city parking permit that would allow them park on the street indefinitely. Couple that with events at the Barn and Raley Field and public street parking can be near impossible to find on certain days. And since Garden Park is a city park, the city (understandably) wants to have better accessibility for anyone who wants to enjoy it.
In the 2 years I've lived there the city has changed the parking restrictions and permit eligibility at least 3 times and has caused a lot of confusion. Additionally, if you don't have a city permit, the longest amount of time you can park anywhere from Raley Field to south of the Pioneer Bridge is 2 hours (enforced 24 hours). Which normally isn't an issue for many unless you are having a party or friends over. Asking people to move their cars every 2 hours (if they can even find a spot to move to) is a little ridiculous. I hosted a birthday party for a friend last year and ended up shelling out over $200 to pay for some friends who had gotten parking tickets while at my house because I didn't want them to have to run out every two hours to move their cars. The closest public parking longer than 2 hours is at the Crocker Art Museum, a mile walk away on the other side of the river. A lot of the neighbors have been upset because we were sold the homes and told "these are great for entertaining". Great for entertaining but you just can't have more than 4 people over at a time for longer than 2 hours. I do have quite a few friends in and around Midtown that will just take Uber over. But realistically, friends and family coming from Rocklin, Cameron Park, Vacaville... just don't use Uber nor would I expect them to.
So my impression is that there has been a lot of confusion, frustration, anger, etc for folks living in and around the Bridge District. Like I mentioned before the City's keeps changing parking requirements every few months and no one knew what streets had street parking, who could park there, and for how long. Their answer to this was to essentially revoke all residents parking permits. All streets in the TBD will now be 2 or 3 hour parking, enforced 24 hours (many streets with meters), and no parking permits allowed. Folks living in the Rivermark and Habitat buildings can now purchase a monthly parking permit for the parking lot the city just built. Home owners will also be allowed a limited number of temporary guest parking permits for the lot twice a month for events and parties. Over that, guests will just park in the lot and pay. And people who drive to events at the Barn will have to park and pay there if you plan to stay over 2 hours.
That being said, I do know that this is the City's temporary solution. The parking lot is NOT permanent. The lot they built on is several years out from planned development and it'll eventually be built upon. So I agree it sucks now (I sighed the day I realized what they were building), but it won't be forever.
In my mind this is kind of a chicken vs egg situation. Most of us who live there moved there for the urban location and want an urban, car-limited environment- we all walk, bike, and uber as much as we can. I love walking to G1C and Raley Field, biking to weekend coffee at Bean and Barrel, and ubering to midtown to meet up with friends. Sometimes this is just not feasible or realistic though. And until infrastructure catches up with the increasing rooftops- ie, more bus connections, street car, a closer river crossing, closer grocery and amenities (let's face it, those houses are out in the middle of "nowhere" right now), I think parking and cars in the district will continue to be a reality for the near-term.
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