Mandating garages is dangerous because it unfairly impacts lower-income homeowners (and renters) and may be problematic for some properties where the lot is already the size of a postage stamp. However, requiring a certain amount of off-street parking (whether that's a bit of blacktop at the back of the property, a parking lot for larger properties, a garage, or whatever - it's up to the owner) would be beneficial. My own experiences -
On my block and surrounding blocks, parking spaces are a hot commodity. I have frequently had total strangers park across the front of my garage (without asking permission) in the alley, and have had to call for those cars to be towed. I have also seen, at least once a week, cars parked out in the middle of the alley, completely blocking it (and I call for those cars to be tagged also). The biggest problem, however, is in the winter. Snow plowing and snow emergencies are a hardship on virtually everyone in the neighborhood. Many have no place to park a car for blocks on end, so they take their chances and leave the car on the street, where it is often ticketed but not towed. This is a hefty cost to those car owners, and many can't afford it. Snow plows go around those cars, creating tall ridges in the middle of the street and narrowing the street all winter long until there's a thaw. The car owners have to dig the ticketed car out, which also causes traffic havoc, and is a major inconvenience for them. A frequent winter scene in my neck of the woods is a family trying to get a couple of kindergarteners or first-graders off to school in the morning, only to have every adult in the house press-ganged into un-burying the car while the chilly toddlers go wandering into the road. Though requiring *some* sort of off-street parking is still a burden, I'm not sure that the cost of creating at least a short paved space behind a home is significantly more expensive and inconvenient than digging out cars and paying tickets and even impound fees every winter. I also think that in the case of landlords, it's just the right thing to do for their tenants. If there is going to be a mandate like this, however, the city needs to find a way to help low-income owners pay the costs. The reality is that a lot of people have a hard time making their monthly payments for the basics like mortgage, insurance, utilities, food, gasoline, etc., and adding on even a modest requirement like this is enough to tip them over the edge. Roxana Orrell Central On Monday, October 14, 2002, at 03:18 PM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote: > --__--__-- > > Message: 17 > Date: Mon, 14 Oct 2002 15:11:14 -0500 > To: mpls-issues <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > From: Tim Bonham <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > Subject: [Mpls] Re: Governmental Support for Garage Bands. . . . > > >> nor does the lack of a garage negatively >> impact the quality of life of the community >> . . . >> Joseph Barisonzi >> Lyndale, Ward 10 > I would disagree with this, Joe. There are certainly parts > of the > city where this DOES damage the quality of life in the community. (The > north half of the (old) 10th ward, for one example.) There are a lot > of > quality-of-life issues caused by too few garages and thus too many cars > looking for too few on-street parking spots. And the problem is even > worse > in the winter. We've even had police calls in Minneapolis to deal with > people assaulting each other over parking spots! > I'm not sure if the city needs to mandate garages, or just > require > an appropriate number of off-street parking spaces for apartment > buildings/duplexes, or what. But I for one am glad to see that the > Council > is looking at ways to address this problem. > > Tim Bonham, Ward 12, Standish-Ericsson _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
