We’ve seen numerous parking studies and surveys over the years, but there are a couple more that I’d like to commission.
I’d like to know what percentage of people who complain the most about downtown parking actually ever try parking downtown.
And, from the people who oppose Broughton Street development because of parking concerns, I’d like to hear their vision for the upper stories and even entire buildings that are now sitting empty.
As I’ve said here repeatedly over the years, finding on-street parking in much of the Historic District is pretty easy at many times throughout the average week.
Of course, there will be more parking pressure if developer Ben Carter and other downtown investors see their dreams realized. And there are some legitimate parking issues that need to be sorted out.
There already are condos and apartments on upper floors of some Broughton Street buildings, but we’re likely to see dozens more in the coming years. And I agree with developers that we should allow more and smaller units than have been permitted in the past.
If we had focused efforts a decade ago on smaller and cheaper rental units rather than on the “luxury” condo market, we likely would have seen Broughton’s upper floors fill up much faster.
But when we have more residents living above Broughton storefronts, where will they park?
Will they need to park?
There are lots of college students and young professionals living in the downtown area without cars. Upper floor units on Broughton Street will be especially appealing to those people.
Still, current policy allows those with residential permits to park in nearby metered spaces. Won’t that eat up all the on-street spaces that are already in short supply?
Maybe, maybe not.
Given existing parking restrictions, many Broughton Street residents would simply not be able to find on-street spots within a block of their homes, decal or no decal.
Broughton Street residents who want reliable parking really need to rent spaces in nearby garages. That’s true now, and it will be truer in the future.
If we want to get out in front of the issue, we could simply deny residential parking permits for occupants of new Broughton units. Metropolitan Planning Commission member Susan Myers suggested that policy last week during a debate about some of these issues.
A busy city can never satisfy everyone concerned about thorny issues like parking, but there are reasonable ways to address issues while still facilitating investment and development.
City Talk appears every Sunday and Tuesday. Bill Dawers can be reached via billdawers@comcast.net. Send mail to 10 E. 32nd St., Savannah, GA. 31401.