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Meh. Just build underground parking. Pretty much every new development in my city comes with underground parking now. I think it's a combination of land getti

Meh. Just build underground parking. Pretty much every new development in my city comes with underground parking now. I think it's a combination of land getting so expensive that underground parking is worth it, and also that developers realised that people will pay a lot more if there are gardens and parks between houses (instead of parking lots)

bsimpson 3y ago
It does blow my mind how many times the easiest solution is a garage. In San Francisco, there's was a proposal about ten years ago to convert a street that was full of shops near the water and already had a bike path to a proper pedestrian promenade. A bunch of shopkeepers flipped their shit at the idea of not having parking spaces in front of their stores. The mayor's optometrist was on that street, so he had the whole project binned. They could have easily eminent domained some disused building nearby, built a parking garage, and made everyone happy. Instead they went "cars good, people bad, cancelled."
- newaccount74 3y ago
  Right? It's often not that hard to make an environment that works for cars, pedestrians and bikes. I live in an apartment complex with a gigantic underground parking garage. There are no cars on ground level, just paths for walking and bikes. About 2000 people live here. Almost everyone has a car, but their cars are mostly just parked in the garage. 90% of people who live here either walk, take public transit, or ride their bikes to work. But when you need a car to visit grandma with your 4 kids, it's right there, underground.
oftenwrong 3y ago
Underground parking is very expensive to build. According to this source, it costs $25000 - $50000 (USD) per space: https://www.fixr.com/costs/build-parking-garage https://www.fixr.com/costs/build-parking-garage That adds up to a lot of extra cost in a development, and the requirement to build parking underground can easily sink a project.

bsimpson 3y ago

It does blow my mind how many times the easiest solution is a garage. In San Francisco, there's was a proposal about ten years ago to convert a street that was full of shops near the water and already had a bike path to a proper pedestrian promenade. A bunch of shopkeepers flipped their shit at the idea of not having parking spaces in front of their stores. The mayor's optometrist was on that street, so he had the whole project binned. They could have easily eminent domained some disused building nearby, built a parking garage, and made everyone happy. Instead they went "cars good, people bad, cancelled."

newaccount74 3y ago
Right? It's often not that hard to make an environment that works for cars, pedestrians and bikes. I live in an apartment complex with a gigantic underground parking garage. There are no cars on ground level, just paths for walking and bikes. About 2000 people live here. Almost everyone has a car, but their cars are mostly just parked in the garage. 90% of people who live here either walk, take public transit, or ride their bikes to work. But when you need a car to visit grandma with your 4 kids, it's right there, underground.

oftenwrong 3y ago

Underground parking is very expensive to build. According to this source, it costs $25000 - $50000 (USD) per space: https://www.fixr.com/costs/build-parking-garage https://www.fixr.com/costs/build-parking-garage That adds up to a lot of extra cost in a development, and the requirement to build parking underground can easily sink a project.