4 ms·

This is a poor framing and Darrel knows better. While it is true retail shops fight to maintain parking spots, the real underlying issue is the local homeowners

This is a poor framing and Darrel knows better. While it is true retail shops fight to maintain parking spots, the real underlying issue is the local homeowners who fight the denser type of housing that is needed to promote foot traffic to keep businesses viable. Cities in general also don’t sufficiently support mass transit and biking which also helps increase non-auto customers. What is needed is general reform of the layout of America cities. Specifically we need to allow five-over-one buildings (retail first floor, 5 stories of residential above) nearly everywhere. Every time I am in Cambridge MA I am shocked at the blocks of one story retail along Massachusetts Ave.

SoftTalker 3y ago
5-over-1 is all they are building where I live. The apartments are rented as fast as they go up but a lot of the ground-floor retail is vacant.
- rickydroll 3y ago
  It is time to start examining why these stores are vacant. Are the businesses that provide services necessary for living profitable enough to pay city rent and living wage with the number of people within a 15-minute walk?
  - yardie 3y ago
    Commercial property owners are in denial at the moment. I have a friend who wanted to open a small restaurant in our neighborhood. The building is mixed use so great foot traffic and great elevator traffic. They contact the realtor who sends back the terms and the terms were eye watering expensive. Since then multiple coffee shops have tried and failed within the same storefront. I'm guessing over 50% of revenue is going toward paying the lease. Now it's been empty for almost a year.
    - SoftTalker 3y ago
      That and the whole notion that a majority of people want to go to a bunch of little shops every day for food and supplies. I go to Kroger or Target once or twice a week and I'm set.
      - estebank 3y ago
        It doesn't have to be a majority of people, just enough people to be profitable. And in cities where people walk, that is the case.
letmeinhere 3y ago
> Cities in general also don't sufficiently support mass transit and biking Yes, and he's pointing to a very big reason why: electeds defer to small business owners, who tend to be irrationally hostile to those alternatives. Zoning reform is all well and good (pretty sure Owens agrees with you there), but road use reform is much cheaper and faster path to greater safety. And it too will lead to greater density.
- BenFranklin100 3y ago
  You miss my point. Bus lanes are economic and political non starters in cities without sufficient residential density. Not enough people to use them to justify the cost to the average city official. And all the bike lanes in the world aren’t going to help a business if enough people don’t live within biking distance. Denser housing is key, and it also drives down rents for retail.
  - UtopiaPunk 3y ago
    A good biking distance is about 3-5 miles. Anyone living in a city should live within 3-5 miles of something. Heck even in a lot of suburbs or small towns, biking makes more sense that business owners realize. But the infrastructure discourages people biking. I live in such a place. The primary reason why I bike to the grocery store, restaurants, and coffee shop while my spouse does not is safety. They're very concerned about the risks. I'm more tolerant of the risks, but their position is perfectly reasonable. If there were more biking infrastructure that made it safe to bike (separarte bikes and cars), more people would bike. But building such biking infrastructure is often seen as taking something away from car-driving customers. But I also support denser housing. We should be doing both.
    - BenFranklin100 3y ago
      Good for you. But the average person is not going to bike 5 miles, or even a couple of miles for that matter, even with good infrastructure. It’s just too far for most folks. In biking heavy European cities, average trips are well less than a mile. That only works in dense cities. Density is key in all discussions about livable, walkable, bike-able, communities.

SoftTalker 3y ago

5-over-1 is all they are building where I live. The apartments are rented as fast as they go up but a lot of the ground-floor retail is vacant.

rickydroll 3y ago
It is time to start examining why these stores are vacant. Are the businesses that provide services necessary for living profitable enough to pay city rent and living wage with the number of people within a 15-minute walk?
- yardie 3y ago
  Commercial property owners are in denial at the moment. I have a friend who wanted to open a small restaurant in our neighborhood. The building is mixed use so great foot traffic and great elevator traffic. They contact the realtor who sends back the terms and the terms were eye watering expensive. Since then multiple coffee shops have tried and failed within the same storefront. I'm guessing over 50% of revenue is going toward paying the lease. Now it's been empty for almost a year.
  - SoftTalker 3y ago
    That and the whole notion that a majority of people want to go to a bunch of little shops every day for food and supplies. I go to Kroger or Target once or twice a week and I'm set.
    - estebank 3y ago
      It doesn't have to be a majority of people, just enough people to be profitable. And in cities where people walk, that is the case.

letmeinhere 3y ago

> Cities in general also don't sufficiently support mass transit and biking Yes, and he's pointing to a very big reason why: electeds defer to small business owners, who tend to be irrationally hostile to those alternatives. Zoning reform is all well and good (pretty sure Owens agrees with you there), but road use reform is much cheaper and faster path to greater safety. And it too will lead to greater density.

BenFranklin100 3y ago
You miss my point. Bus lanes are economic and political non starters in cities without sufficient residential density. Not enough people to use them to justify the cost to the average city official. And all the bike lanes in the world aren’t going to help a business if enough people don’t live within biking distance. Denser housing is key, and it also drives down rents for retail.
- UtopiaPunk 3y ago
  A good biking distance is about 3-5 miles. Anyone living in a city should live within 3-5 miles of something. Heck even in a lot of suburbs or small towns, biking makes more sense that business owners realize. But the infrastructure discourages people biking. I live in such a place. The primary reason why I bike to the grocery store, restaurants, and coffee shop while my spouse does not is safety. They're very concerned about the risks. I'm more tolerant of the risks, but their position is perfectly reasonable. If there were more biking infrastructure that made it safe to bike (separarte bikes and cars), more people would bike. But building such biking infrastructure is often seen as taking something away from car-driving customers. But I also support denser housing. We should be doing both.
  - BenFranklin100 3y ago
    Good for you. But the average person is not going to bike 5 miles, or even a couple of miles for that matter, even with good infrastructure. It’s just too far for most folks. In biking heavy European cities, average trips are well less than a mile. That only works in dense cities. Density is key in all discussions about livable, walkable, bike-able, communities.