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> The city already owns the parking spots. No need to condemn anything. Just change the use. OK, I'll be more explicit: I don't see any evidence that parking l

by chc 12y ago

> The city already owns the parking spots. No need to condemn anything. Just change the use. OK, I'll be more explicit: I don't see any evidence that parking lots are special here. It sounds like you could build a park in the place of just about anything else and get the same benefit. It's not clear that this has anything to do with parking lots per se. > It isn't anti-car propaganda to point out that huge swaths of valuable public real estate are dedicated to providing free storage for empty cars, and to suggest that there are other uses that would be more beneficial to more people. How is that not an expression of anti-car sentiment? Are you not suggesting making it less convenient to drive cars?

TeMPOraL 12y ago
>> It isn't anti-car propaganda to point out that huge swaths of valuable public real estate are dedicated to providing free storage for empty cars, and to suggest that there are other uses that would be more beneficial to more people. > How is that not an expression of anti-car sentiment? Are you not suggesting making it less convenient to drive cars? Because it's not a sentiment, the anti-car idea here emerges straight from a rational cost/benefit analysis. There are many strong arguments for reducing the use of cars in cities - useful space lost to parking is just one of them.
- chc 12y ago
  > Because it's not a sentiment, the anti-car idea here emerges straight from a rational cost/benefit analysis. No, it doesn't. That's precisely what I've been saying. This article doesn't at all differentiate the benefit of a park from the effect of removing parking, so there is no rational cost/benefit analysis here. > There are many strong arguments for reducing the use of cars in cities - useful space lost to parking is just one of them. I have a hard enough time finding parking in San Diego as it is. I would like to hear a strong argument for preventing me from ever going anywhere.
to3m 12y ago
Well, I'd argue parking spaces are special: because they can be turned into free space, and then turned back into a parking space, very easily! Sometimes you don't even have to do anything - for proof, see parking restrictions intended to free up extra lanes during busy periods, that rely on nothing more than the time of day. This makes the experiment quick and easy to do. (You could also knock down a shop to see what would happen, but that would be harder to reverse, and the owner would be unlikely to agree to it.)

by chc 12y ago

TeMPOraL 12y ago

>> It isn't anti-car propaganda to point out that huge swaths of valuable public real estate are dedicated to providing free storage for empty cars, and to suggest that there are other uses that would be more beneficial to more people. > How is that not an expression of anti-car sentiment? Are you not suggesting making it less convenient to drive cars? Because it's not a sentiment, the anti-car idea here emerges straight from a rational cost/benefit analysis. There are many strong arguments for reducing the use of cars in cities - useful space lost to parking is just one of them.

chc 12y ago
> Because it's not a sentiment, the anti-car idea here emerges straight from a rational cost/benefit analysis. No, it doesn't. That's precisely what I've been saying. This article doesn't at all differentiate the benefit of a park from the effect of removing parking, so there is no rational cost/benefit analysis here. > There are many strong arguments for reducing the use of cars in cities - useful space lost to parking is just one of them. I have a hard enough time finding parking in San Diego as it is. I would like to hear a strong argument for preventing me from ever going anywhere.

to3m 12y ago

Well, I'd argue parking spaces are special: because they can be turned into free space, and then turned back into a parking space, very easily! Sometimes you don't even have to do anything - for proof, see parking restrictions intended to free up extra lanes during busy periods, that rely on nothing more than the time of day. This makes the experiment quick and easy to do. (You could also knock down a shop to see what would happen, but that would be harder to reverse, and the owner would be unlikely to agree to it.)