Reviewed Ideas
People who don't like Phoenix stereotype our city as "one giant suburb." They're wrong, but we reinforce their perceptions when we act as if every business and residence has control of the parallel parking in front of its property. We need to stop thinking in terms of excessive dedicated parking that each business or household needs only for occasional peak demand and think more in terms of a community pool of parking that meets everyone's needs. From a commercial point of view, look at the current proposal to redesign Roosevelt Row. Parallel parking along Roosevelt is not in the most recent plan because businesses along the street reportedly don't support it. That seems so counter-intuitive that it's tempting to wonder what the businesses' objections are and whether a majority, or just a vocal minority, are opposed. Regardless, this seems a case in which the City should see the benefits that parallel parking brings to everyone in a commercial district: Better access to businesses for quick visits, calmer traffic, and protection of pedestrians (and maybe even bicyclists depending on design). In a residential context, the City has created 26 resident-only parking zones. These zones are appropriate in a limited number of situations in which heavy use of parallel parking in front of houses is creating a nuisance (e.g. a situation in which patrons leaving bars and restaurants late at night disturb homeowners). Nevertheless, the City has overreached with the needless resident-only parking in Area 18 near Granada Park. This area suffers from a serious parking crunch only one weekend a year when the Holy Trinity Greek Festival occurs. Year-round parking restrictions are not needed when an ad-hoc solution could be used during that annual event. Regardless of the decisions made about any single block, Phoenix and Phoenicians need to understand that private parking should be limited to garages, driveways, and lots on private property. The curb should be for everyone.
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