Businesses in Toronto want to see parking money diverted to transit!
Think about it. Would go downtown more frequently in any city if you could take a bus every twenty minutes rather than look for a parking place. On the other hand, if the bus was every half-hour or even every hour, wouldn't it be easier to drive to "the mall".
See
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/toronto/put-parking-lot-money-toward-transit-torontos-business-lobby-says/article31890340
Showing posts with label parking. Show all posts
Showing posts with label parking. Show all posts
Saturday, September 17, 2016
Wednesday, August 20, 2014
Quote of the day: Suburbia
“Seriously, nothing good ever came out of suburbia.”
I’m cleaning out my Outlook email, and the folder is my clippings file going back to 2011. One that I had to write a blog entry on was “‘Detroit,’ Meet Detroit” by Toby Barlow, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/toby-barlow/detroit-meet-detroit_b_1097133.html especially after I posted “You’re not from there; I am from there!”
http://magree.blogspot.com/2014/08/youre-not-from-there-i-am-from-there.html
Barlow gives a long list of interesting spots to visit in the City of Detroit.
I don’t know about Detroit, but I think one thing that deters people from going into a downtown is lack of “free parking”, even if they are only paying 25 cents for a twenty-minute stop. The other is that public transit has become less frequent making it more inconvenient. My mantra about bus service into downtown Duluth is that you’re either five minutes late or twenty-five minutes early. Many buses arrive downtown at x:05 or x:35. Maybe offices should make appointments for x:15 and x:45.
I’m cleaning out my Outlook email, and the folder is my clippings file going back to 2011. One that I had to write a blog entry on was “‘Detroit,’ Meet Detroit” by Toby Barlow, http://www.huffingtonpost.com/toby-barlow/detroit-meet-detroit_b_1097133.html especially after I posted “You’re not from there; I am from there!”
http://magree.blogspot.com/2014/08/youre-not-from-there-i-am-from-there.html
Barlow gives a long list of interesting spots to visit in the City of Detroit.
I don’t know about Detroit, but I think one thing that deters people from going into a downtown is lack of “free parking”, even if they are only paying 25 cents for a twenty-minute stop. The other is that public transit has become less frequent making it more inconvenient. My mantra about bus service into downtown Duluth is that you’re either five minutes late or twenty-five minutes early. Many buses arrive downtown at x:05 or x:35. Maybe offices should make appointments for x:15 and x:45.
Friday, December 20, 2013
Who needs comics? We live them!
Yesterday my wife came back from Japan via Minneapolis. She was to call me on her cell phone when she was in line to board the flight to Duluth.
That was the first of many delays. The plane had not arrived yet. It needed to be de-iced at its previous landing, but the de-icing equipment was broken. This wasn't so bad, I don't think it left Minneapolis more than 45 minutes late.
When she called, I started off on several errands before I met her, figuring I could do quite a bit in an hour.
The first was to dump food scraps for compost at a neighborhood restaurant. I did that then went in to pick up the latest Reader Weekly. It wasn't in yet. I came back to the car and it wouldn't start. Oh, no! I left the lights on?
What do I do? Walk the block back home and get the other car? Or do I just bring the battery charger? I opted for the latter. Then I couldn't get the lid off the charging contact. Even with the pen knife I had recently bought to replace the one I lost. I kept trying and eventually got the lid off. I hooked up the cables and nothing. I put the ground at a different place, and vroom!
OK, I can go now. But as I shut the hood, I forgot to take out the prop. For the second time this year I bent it! So, there's five more minutes to straighten that out so I can close the hood properly.
Next stop is to mail a bill and a Netflix DVD. That went OK though the mailbox access was not the best. And I managed not to get my door banged by other traffic.
Now it is too late to do my next errand. So, it's straight to the airport.
As I'm on the way to the airport, my cell phone rings. The best I can do is peek at the caller and see that it is my wife calling. She has landed.
OK, so I go directly to Arrivals and call her to say that I am out front. No answer! I try again and again assuming she either went to the rest room or has it buried in her purse. After six or seven tries, I loop around to the "cell phone lot". I try two or three times more. #%&! I drive to the pay lot and trudge across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to the terminal.
What do I do first? Yell and scream at her for not answering the phone? Give her a big hug because I'm so glad that she has come back safely. Of course, the latter. Then I "yell and scream" and she admits she had turned her cell phone off!
She is ready to trudge across the lot with her big suitcase, our granddaughter, and our granddaughter's little suitcase. I say no, I'll drive up to the Arrivals and meet you there.
So, I trudge back across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to our car. I have $2 out because that is the cost for the first hour. I present the ticket and $2 to the attendant. He presses a few buttons, says it's free, and gives me my $2 back. Second best thing of the day after my wife coming back.
The rest of the day was "normal". She had enough energy to visit the store I had planned to visit first, to go to two other stores, and to go out to eat at the restaurant that I had stopped at first.
Then she crashed! Then woke up and couldn't sleep. Then she crashed and slept to ten this morning.
Maybe in a few days, we'll be back on our normal cycles.
Oh, my wife also suggested that maybe I forgot to press the brake as I started the car with keyless entry. Did I? Didn't I? I vaguely remember both!
That was the first of many delays. The plane had not arrived yet. It needed to be de-iced at its previous landing, but the de-icing equipment was broken. This wasn't so bad, I don't think it left Minneapolis more than 45 minutes late.
When she called, I started off on several errands before I met her, figuring I could do quite a bit in an hour.
The first was to dump food scraps for compost at a neighborhood restaurant. I did that then went in to pick up the latest Reader Weekly. It wasn't in yet. I came back to the car and it wouldn't start. Oh, no! I left the lights on?
What do I do? Walk the block back home and get the other car? Or do I just bring the battery charger? I opted for the latter. Then I couldn't get the lid off the charging contact. Even with the pen knife I had recently bought to replace the one I lost. I kept trying and eventually got the lid off. I hooked up the cables and nothing. I put the ground at a different place, and vroom!
OK, I can go now. But as I shut the hood, I forgot to take out the prop. For the second time this year I bent it! So, there's five more minutes to straighten that out so I can close the hood properly.
Next stop is to mail a bill and a Netflix DVD. That went OK though the mailbox access was not the best. And I managed not to get my door banged by other traffic.
Now it is too late to do my next errand. So, it's straight to the airport.
As I'm on the way to the airport, my cell phone rings. The best I can do is peek at the caller and see that it is my wife calling. She has landed.
OK, so I go directly to Arrivals and call her to say that I am out front. No answer! I try again and again assuming she either went to the rest room or has it buried in her purse. After six or seven tries, I loop around to the "cell phone lot". I try two or three times more. #%&! I drive to the pay lot and trudge across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to the terminal.
What do I do first? Yell and scream at her for not answering the phone? Give her a big hug because I'm so glad that she has come back safely. Of course, the latter. Then I "yell and scream" and she admits she had turned her cell phone off!
She is ready to trudge across the lot with her big suitcase, our granddaughter, and our granddaughter's little suitcase. I say no, I'll drive up to the Arrivals and meet you there.
So, I trudge back across the cold, windy, snow-packed lot to our car. I have $2 out because that is the cost for the first hour. I present the ticket and $2 to the attendant. He presses a few buttons, says it's free, and gives me my $2 back. Second best thing of the day after my wife coming back.
The rest of the day was "normal". She had enough energy to visit the store I had planned to visit first, to go to two other stores, and to go out to eat at the restaurant that I had stopped at first.
Then she crashed! Then woke up and couldn't sleep. Then she crashed and slept to ten this morning.
Maybe in a few days, we'll be back on our normal cycles.
Oh, my wife also suggested that maybe I forgot to press the brake as I started the car with keyless entry. Did I? Didn't I? I vaguely remember both!
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Economic development for the sake of economic development
Duluth, Minnesota has a new parking ramp that has been controversial. From a small motel that was losing parking space for some of its RV customers to the mayor getting angry at a medical center for not following through on its supposed agreement with the city to rent some of the space.
As I walk by the First Street Ramp (the one between 3rd and 4th Aves. E.), I wonder if those that conceived it did their homework beforehand. At one o'clock on a weekday, almost none of the metered parking on the street was in use. From what I can see, there are few cars in the ramp. A friend who has used the ramp said that there were few cars in it.
When I don't take a bus or walk to the fitness center in the medical center (SMDC - St. Mary's Duluth Clinic) I park in the Second Street Ramp which is part of SMDC's Second Street Building. Only once have I found the ramp full and I generally find a spot in the first two levels. The cost is $1.25, $1.75, and $2.00 for one, two, and three hours. The city's First Street Ramp is a flat $1.00 per hour, and it is farther away.
One SMDC employee who wrote a letter to the editor of the Duluth News Tribune complained she couldn't afford the rates the city wanted for the First Street Ramp. SMDC does run a shuttle to another city-owned ramp and lot (at the DECC - Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center). SMDC provides the shuttle and the parking free to its employees. The shuttle runs every fifteen minutes at shift changes and otherwise every thirty minutes.
A new Sheraton Hotel and condos does contract for some of the space, but a hotel that occupies a quarter block shouldn't need a ramp that occupies a half block.
My guess is that more frequent bus service throughout the city could have been provided for the cost of this ramp and would have provided just as many "jobs" for a much longer time.
Maybe the Building Trades Council has more clout than the Teamsters, the union of the bus drivers. Maybe certain politicians think changed real estate will provide more tax revenue than basic services. I bet an investigative reporter could come up with all the whys and wherefores and a better cost/benefit analysis than seemingly was done for this project.
For more of my thoughts on Duluth, see "Downtown Duluth: Pizza but no pizzazz!" The sidebar of this article lists more articles on Duluth.
As I walk by the First Street Ramp (the one between 3rd and 4th Aves. E.), I wonder if those that conceived it did their homework beforehand. At one o'clock on a weekday, almost none of the metered parking on the street was in use. From what I can see, there are few cars in the ramp. A friend who has used the ramp said that there were few cars in it.
When I don't take a bus or walk to the fitness center in the medical center (SMDC - St. Mary's Duluth Clinic) I park in the Second Street Ramp which is part of SMDC's Second Street Building. Only once have I found the ramp full and I generally find a spot in the first two levels. The cost is $1.25, $1.75, and $2.00 for one, two, and three hours. The city's First Street Ramp is a flat $1.00 per hour, and it is farther away.
One SMDC employee who wrote a letter to the editor of the Duluth News Tribune complained she couldn't afford the rates the city wanted for the First Street Ramp. SMDC does run a shuttle to another city-owned ramp and lot (at the DECC - Duluth Entertainment and Convention Center). SMDC provides the shuttle and the parking free to its employees. The shuttle runs every fifteen minutes at shift changes and otherwise every thirty minutes.
A new Sheraton Hotel and condos does contract for some of the space, but a hotel that occupies a quarter block shouldn't need a ramp that occupies a half block.
My guess is that more frequent bus service throughout the city could have been provided for the cost of this ramp and would have provided just as many "jobs" for a much longer time.
Maybe the Building Trades Council has more clout than the Teamsters, the union of the bus drivers. Maybe certain politicians think changed real estate will provide more tax revenue than basic services. I bet an investigative reporter could come up with all the whys and wherefores and a better cost/benefit analysis than seemingly was done for this project.
For more of my thoughts on Duluth, see "Downtown Duluth: Pizza but no pizzazz!" The sidebar of this article lists more articles on Duluth.
Tuesday, April 03, 2007
Parking is too cheap!
Many people think parking is too expensive, especially those who use meters. But if you look at the larger pictures of global warming and national defense it is far too inexpensive.
Shopping centers, even strip malls of four or five stores, offer free parking. These are located all over a city of any size. Free parking is a disincentive to taking a bus. From the perspective of global warming, buses may pollute more than cars, but we need buses for those who can't or shouldn't drive. So, each car adds to the pollution. Also, each car adds to the oil we need to import, and oil wealth is supporting unstable nations and terrorists. What will the cost to our economy be when the next terrorist attack comes?
Even paid parking is too cheap. If I take the bus to a fitness center, it costs me $1.20 round-trip in non-peak hours. I can park on the street for $1.00 for an hour, and I get to come and go on my own schedule. I can park in the ramp for $1.25 for an hour or $1.75 for two hours. If one of my bus trips is in a peak hour, then my fare will be $1.85.
If my wife and I go together, then our combined fare is $2.40 or $3.70. Since we have a car already and it costs only a few pennies in fuel for the two-mile trip, why should we take the bus.
Even downtown parking is too cheap. One lot is $3.75 all day. One person driving alone would pay $2.50 for bus fare, but two would pay $5.00. Wouldn't trudging out to the street or garage in the snow to one's car be easier than trudging to the corner through the snow and worth the extra $1.25 per day?
Even if the weather is nice, one has to plan one's schedule around an every half-hour bus. Forget something as you leave your house and you are late for work.
See also my article "Cost sharing or cost shifting"?
Shopping centers, even strip malls of four or five stores, offer free parking. These are located all over a city of any size. Free parking is a disincentive to taking a bus. From the perspective of global warming, buses may pollute more than cars, but we need buses for those who can't or shouldn't drive. So, each car adds to the pollution. Also, each car adds to the oil we need to import, and oil wealth is supporting unstable nations and terrorists. What will the cost to our economy be when the next terrorist attack comes?
Even paid parking is too cheap. If I take the bus to a fitness center, it costs me $1.20 round-trip in non-peak hours. I can park on the street for $1.00 for an hour, and I get to come and go on my own schedule. I can park in the ramp for $1.25 for an hour or $1.75 for two hours. If one of my bus trips is in a peak hour, then my fare will be $1.85.
If my wife and I go together, then our combined fare is $2.40 or $3.70. Since we have a car already and it costs only a few pennies in fuel for the two-mile trip, why should we take the bus.
Even downtown parking is too cheap. One lot is $3.75 all day. One person driving alone would pay $2.50 for bus fare, but two would pay $5.00. Wouldn't trudging out to the street or garage in the snow to one's car be easier than trudging to the corner through the snow and worth the extra $1.25 per day?
Even if the weather is nice, one has to plan one's schedule around an every half-hour bus. Forget something as you leave your house and you are late for work.
See also my article "Cost sharing or cost shifting"?
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