“Parking is a really personal and passionate issue.” That was Gil Gustafson’s admonition to the West Saint Paul City Council last week as he and a neighbor made their case for an arguably very personal residents-only permit parking zone on his block of Livingston Avenue, a block away from an apartment complex on Robert Street. […]
Via the peerless City Observatory, here’s a new report that measures the relative cost of downtown parking in US metros. (Note: I’m not sure if they used Minneapolis, Saint Paul, or both for this study…) You can see the chart here, with Minneapolis-Saint Paul highlighted: The report’s authors followed up the chart with an admittedly […]
A co-worker recently began biking to work. As I have counseled him along the way, he has shared the many things he enjoys, but there have also been some headaches. One challenge was finding parking for his bicycle. “I hardly ever see other bikes on the rack out front, but I know a bunch of […]
“Nobody goes there anymore. It’s too crowded.” –Yogi Berra If you have lived in Rochester long enough, you may remember downtown buildings as the businesses that used to occupy them (e.g. Dayton’s, Wong’s, Henry Wellington’s). And you may remember a time when it was very convenient to drive downtown and park right in front of […]
This week the American Psychiatric Association (APA) announced it was adding “Fear of Parking Loss” to its official “Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders”. Fear of Parking Loss (FPL) is characterized by a belief that having free, on-street parking next to the front door of your destination is essential for human survival and a […]
Yesterday, I made plans with friends to go out for dinner in downtown Minneapolis. Although one of my friends has a car, she didn’t want to drive because “there’s never anywhere to park”. This seems to be a common sentiment towards driving downtown in Minneapolis and many other cities, so why is so much space […]
My open letter to City of Minneapolis officials and staff regarding the disposition of a vacant, city-owned lot. I’m disappointed to see the recent article in the Southwest Journal, “Project with most parking wins vote in Lyndale neighborhood.” I am urging you and city staff to choose the 32+ unit apartment proposal that serves the interests […]
The Southwest Journal reports on a housing competition in Minneapolis: Lyndale neighborhood residents heard two competing development concepts Monday for 3329 Nicollet Ave., and voted 20-11 in favor of the pitch that provided the most parking. The developers’ concepts ranged from eight-unit townhouses rising three stories with garages, to a four-story apartment building with at […]
Whatever you call it — a structure, a circular building, a monument to car culture — nobody outside of Minnesota seems to use the term parking “ramp.”
As someone who follows local development politics pretty closely, I’ve been watching a strange new debate unfold at City Hall. We’re used to hearing concerns about parking and neighborhood “character” from longtime homeowners. Now, that same argument is coming from a cast of comedians in support of Acme Comedy Co’s quest to stop the development […]