George, I am frustrated to hear this news - I have never had a problem parking a car at Meriter - and I did so quite frequently back in 2002 around the time my daughter was born. Also, I hope people don't forget that bus/bike are not the only transportation alternatives that do not consume a parking space: A couple of years ago I got conked on the head and needed 7 stitches - a taxi-cab ride was quite effective transportation to/from the ER. There are tons of alternatives, many of which are more practical than SOV+parking. It is a shame more people are not comfortable using these alternatives.
When I was on the Ped-Bike-Motor Vehicle Commission, we reviewed St. Mary's changes which included a huge amount of new parking. Part of their presentation included 50 or so letters from people complaining about parking problems. I suspect the Management at Meriter has received a similar array of complaints, and that may be why mv-alternative users were not consulted. To this I say, do not wait to be consulted! Send your complaint letter now requesting that any new location be served by bus and that it minimize any inconvenience to people who choose to commute by bicycle. You have just as much right to have your preferred mode of transportation accommodated as people who choose to drive automobiles. Now the management are probably car addicts, so one complaint (per affected mv-alt user) probably isn't going to cut it. Management will probably need some schoolin' on the needs of folks who use mv-alternatives. On the bicycling side, I can try to put together a group of people associated with the BTA to meet with management if you think that would be helpful. Others at Meriter may want to try to hook up with transit experts. _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [email protected] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
