[Vision2020] Parking

[mark seman]

Nils,
I applaud the COOP's effort to look long-term and attempt to alter local
driving habits.  While it may be able to impact its own patrons, some of the
CBD's parking issues are about other business owners/employees parking on
Main and they are slow to change their habits.

A parking structure is an attempt to better utilize land (behind NSA) and
would benefit out-of-town visitors (as well as locals.)  Unless our culture
changes drastically, Moscow will eventually require vertical parking to
accomodate its needs.

Prescott, AZ (which I see as similar to Moscow 15-20 years into the future)
built one 2 years ago.  It is well-used, although rarely full, except during
community events that bring tourists in.  But it anticipates the future,
while being of benefit today.

Of course multi-use is good and in addition to being a place to park cars,
it could be a covered venue for Farmers' Market and other existing & new
community events.  I view a parking structure as an eventuality.  It's been
talked about for many years, with no action towards implementation.  There
are those who'd like to not have it.  I'd like to see it, and therefore I'd
like to see effort(s) made towards making it happening.  Collaborative
efforts started early can make it happen in 10-20 years.

Bond levy is just part of the answer.  Funding stategies that spread the
cost over a wide populous (residents & visitors) and an extended time-frame
(since such a structure will be used for 50+ years) is my preference - many
benefactors need to assist with its funding.  I do see it as part of
Moscow's future - every town gets one eventually - unless our automobile
culture changes significantly.

Mark

mark r. seman, architect

v=928.925.7617   f=928.776.9107




-----Original Message-----
From: Nils Peterson [mailto:nils_peterson at wsu.edu]
Sent: Friday, September 15, 2006 7:07 AM
To: vision2020 at moscow.com; baukunst at moscow.com
Subject: Re: Parking


Mark

I think what is really going on is that no one is willing to charge for
parking (eg meters) which would regulate demand and no one is willing to pay
to expand parking (though they might welcome some one else paying to expand
the pool of parking). I'm also guessing that there is no broad base of
political support that would lead the City to pay to build parking.

Bill Parks has spoken about changing the length of time one can park along
Main (maybe various blocks would elect to have different rules). Shortening
the max time to 1 hour or 90 min might move things along faster (at the
expense of employee parking, which would then need to be addressed)

The merits of Bill's idea are that they are low cost and groups of downtown
merchants and occupants could probably meet, decide and ask the City to
implement quickly.

I still like the COOP's approach (though long range) of working with its
customers to change their driving/parking habits for visits to the COOP. I
personally am having trouble implementing the change, and that nags at me,
but they are spending their money to address both the parking problem and
other problems stemming from personal automobile use on several scales.


On 9/14/06 9:21 PM, "vision2020-request at moscow.com"
<vision2020-request at moscow.com> wrote:

> Date: Thu, 14 Sep 2006 21:19:56 -0700
> From: "mark seman" <baukunst at moscow.com>
> Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Parking
> To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
> Message-ID: <NGECKPHOAMEKCBJLBJBGMENJCLAA.baukunst at moscow.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1"
>
> #8  If parking is really a need - view as an opportunity and build a
parking
> structure.
>



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