7 ms·

Seems reasonable, but being a Portland resident I'm already annoyed at how hard it is to find parking. Portland's mass transit is a joke (I can bike downtown e

Seems reasonable, but being a Portland resident I'm already annoyed at how hard it is to find parking. Portland's mass transit is a joke (I can bike downtown end-to-end faster than MAX can crawl through it) and so people have no choice but to drive. What's the point of putting duplexes in neighborhoods without good transit and roads at capacity? California had a much more reasonable solution in SB827 and now SB50 [1] in that density increases would have only happened near transit. I don't think the law will have the intended effects. Home prices tend to be sticky, and I'm not aware of any North American city that successfully built its way out of a housing affordability crisis. Wealth inequality is such that current property owners, and real estate speculators, will make out handesomely. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Senate_Bill_827 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_Senate_Bill_827

chrisco255 7y ago
I'm not sure what you mean about no U.S. city building its way out of an affordability crisis...but cities like Dallas and Houston have reasonable housing prices at $245K and $185K median home price respectively. Price is a function of supply and demand.
- Tiktaalik 7y ago
  It can be tough to compare cities directly. Often apples and oranges. Houston for example sprawls out to the horizon, which surely makes new development simpler, but this isn’t a path than most NW cities such as Vancouver BC, Seattle and Portland would follow.
  - davidw 7y ago
    We do have the technology to stack dwellings vertically, and not just sprawl.
aaronbrethorst 7y ago
I just spent the weekend in Nob Hill in NW Portland (just off 23rd and Flanders), and had no trouble finding parking even though it was a dense residential area and had a ton of businesses nearby. Felt much easier to park there than in Capitol Hill in Seattle.
mmarvick 7y ago
> Portland's mass transit is a joke (I can bike downtown end-to-end faster than MAX can crawl through it) TriMet is currently looking into moving MAX into a tunnel downtown, and with fewer stops [1]. Part of the reason it's _so slow_ right now through downtown is all the stops, and because it has to stop at lights. [1] https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/max-tunnel-study https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/max-tunnel-study
- dredmorbius 7y ago
  Any discussion of timing the lights to MAX rather than the reverse?
- joelhoffman 7y ago
  That is amazing news, thank you for posting it. It was a tragedy they didn't do a cut and cover tunnel for the green line when it went in. They had to shut down all the streets and move the sewer etc. anyway!
Beldin 7y ago
Portland's mass transit is a joke (I can bike downtown end-to-end faster than MAX can crawl through it) and so people have no choice but to drive. Or, obviously, bike. It's typically easier to park a bike than a car - it takes up less space. So you might kill two birds with one stone.
- jquery 7y ago
  That doesn’t work for someone with even a mild physical disability. Or parents with young children. Bikes are great for those who can use them of course and should have their own lanes.
  - jogjayr 7y ago
    > Or parents with young children. Works in NL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLJ876lXsQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLJ876lXsQ
    - obelos 7y ago
      Works in Portland, too. My family with two young children frequently commutes by bike.
      - jquery 7y ago
        Try pulling two kids up an SF hill.
        scarejunba 7y ago
        I don't have any children but I live in Glen Park and I see parents with those bike trailers for their kids all the time. Not something I ever personally considered but those people usually look really fit. Pretty neat, honestly.
        lorenzhs 7y ago
        Easy if you have an electric bike. Cargo bikes often have benches for the kids. They also have plenty of space for groceries. Very common in the Netherlands, and they come in electric versions as well for hillier areas or longer distances.
noobermin 7y ago
It being hard to find parking but easier to bike is a sign that driving is probably not ideal for where you are.
barry-cotter 7y ago
Parking being hard to find is a problem with an easy, obvious and politically difficult solution, just like excessive traffic at peak hours. Charge for parking. If they’re not illegal someone will set up a parking lot and if demand is high enough eventually a parking garage. Charge people for things they want, like parking, or access to Singapore or London city centre during peak hours. Those who don’t value it enough to pay for it will stay home or go elsewhere.
- obelos 7y ago
  Nearly always when people say it's hard to find parking they mean _free_ on-street parking. I've rarely had a problem parking in Portland because I'm willing to pay for the privilege of storing my car when I'm not using it.
- georgeburdell 7y ago
  To be clear, I’m not talking about visitor parking. Even with garages and a driveway, residential parking spills into the street in suburban neighborhoods. Suburban Portland is not Chicago or Singapore. There is no competing transit infrastructure outside of a few main thoroughfares. Also it’s tone deaf for you to propose parking fees for residents in response to the increased number of cars brought about by a density increase in suburban neighborhoods, ostensibly to solve a housing affordability crisis. Single family neighborhoods need to just be razed to the ground and reconstructed in a sustainable manner, not this bandaid
  - bluGill 7y ago
    Transit can be made better by adding more people. The more people who take transit the more routes transit can afford, the more people who can. The cycle re-enforces itself. However this only works when there are enough people in the first place. So adding density makes transit work.
masonic 7y ago
density increases would have only happened near transit But people near transit own cars, too... and, lacking off-street parking, will park on the street.
- bluGill 7y ago
  People near transit own less cars. They still own them I agree, but they do not own as many. When you don't have transit option you need enough cars for each driver, plus at least one backup. When you have transit options many get by with just one car which covers all the non-transit needs.

chrisco255 7y ago

I'm not sure what you mean about no U.S. city building its way out of an affordability crisis...but cities like Dallas and Houston have reasonable housing prices at $245K and $185K median home price respectively. Price is a function of supply and demand.

Tiktaalik 7y ago
It can be tough to compare cities directly. Often apples and oranges. Houston for example sprawls out to the horizon, which surely makes new development simpler, but this isn’t a path than most NW cities such as Vancouver BC, Seattle and Portland would follow.
- davidw 7y ago
  We do have the technology to stack dwellings vertically, and not just sprawl.

aaronbrethorst 7y ago

I just spent the weekend in Nob Hill in NW Portland (just off 23rd and Flanders), and had no trouble finding parking even though it was a dense residential area and had a ton of businesses nearby. Felt much easier to park there than in Capitol Hill in Seattle.

mmarvick 7y ago

> Portland's mass transit is a joke (I can bike downtown end-to-end faster than MAX can crawl through it) TriMet is currently looking into moving MAX into a tunnel downtown, and with fewer stops [1]. Part of the reason it's _so slow_ right now through downtown is all the stops, and because it has to stop at lights. [1] https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/max-tunnel-study https://www.oregonmetro.gov/public-projects/max-tunnel-study

dredmorbius 7y ago
Any discussion of timing the lights to MAX rather than the reverse?
joelhoffman 7y ago
That is amazing news, thank you for posting it. It was a tragedy they didn't do a cut and cover tunnel for the green line when it went in. They had to shut down all the streets and move the sewer etc. anyway!

Beldin 7y ago

Portland's mass transit is a joke (I can bike downtown end-to-end faster than MAX can crawl through it) and so people have no choice but to drive. Or, obviously, bike. It's typically easier to park a bike than a car - it takes up less space. So you might kill two birds with one stone.

jquery 7y ago
That doesn’t work for someone with even a mild physical disability. Or parents with young children. Bikes are great for those who can use them of course and should have their own lanes.
- jogjayr 7y ago
  > Or parents with young children. Works in NL. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLJ876lXsQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SfLJ876lXsQ
  - obelos 7y ago
    Works in Portland, too. My family with two young children frequently commutes by bike.
    - jquery 7y ago
      Try pulling two kids up an SF hill.
      - scarejunba 7y ago
        I don't have any children but I live in Glen Park and I see parents with those bike trailers for their kids all the time. Not something I ever personally considered but those people usually look really fit. Pretty neat, honestly.
      - lorenzhs 7y ago
        Easy if you have an electric bike. Cargo bikes often have benches for the kids. They also have plenty of space for groceries. Very common in the Netherlands, and they come in electric versions as well for hillier areas or longer distances.

noobermin 7y ago

It being hard to find parking but easier to bike is a sign that driving is probably not ideal for where you are.

barry-cotter 7y ago

Parking being hard to find is a problem with an easy, obvious and politically difficult solution, just like excessive traffic at peak hours. Charge for parking. If they’re not illegal someone will set up a parking lot and if demand is high enough eventually a parking garage. Charge people for things they want, like parking, or access to Singapore or London city centre during peak hours. Those who don’t value it enough to pay for it will stay home or go elsewhere.

obelos 7y ago
Nearly always when people say it's hard to find parking they mean _free_ on-street parking. I've rarely had a problem parking in Portland because I'm willing to pay for the privilege of storing my car when I'm not using it.
georgeburdell 7y ago
To be clear, I’m not talking about visitor parking. Even with garages and a driveway, residential parking spills into the street in suburban neighborhoods. Suburban Portland is not Chicago or Singapore. There is no competing transit infrastructure outside of a few main thoroughfares. Also it’s tone deaf for you to propose parking fees for residents in response to the increased number of cars brought about by a density increase in suburban neighborhoods, ostensibly to solve a housing affordability crisis. Single family neighborhoods need to just be razed to the ground and reconstructed in a sustainable manner, not this bandaid
- bluGill 7y ago
  Transit can be made better by adding more people. The more people who take transit the more routes transit can afford, the more people who can. The cycle re-enforces itself. However this only works when there are enough people in the first place. So adding density makes transit work.

masonic 7y ago

density increases would have only happened near transit But people near transit own cars, too... and, lacking off-street parking, will park on the street.

bluGill 7y ago
People near transit own less cars. They still own them I agree, but they do not own as many. When you don't have transit option you need enough cars for each driver, plus at least one backup. When you have transit options many get by with just one car which covers all the non-transit needs.