On street parking may not be either "necessary nor sufficient for good street life", for larger businesses or for new business developments, but off street parking is absolutely essential for the life of small businesses. Lake Street is lined with such business. They are created with the idea that someone can walk in, but also that someone can find a parking space and dash in for a pickup. Lake Street was created with such in mind.
Now I am sure some would like to bulldoze the old commercial corridors of the City and recreate them in the image of the Suburban balance of the County, but I personally enjoy the City and choose to live here because of the old "Urban" life and small business lining streets, not because of the recent planning failures. One need only look as far as the K-Mart fiasco on Lake Street that killed Nicollett to see such, or the Target on West Broadway. The old commercial corridors were vital because of that business, they only became problematic when City Planners tried to "Fix" them. Lake Street has made a comeback because recent immigrants realize the same thing "recent immigrants" realized when they designed and built those great Streets of Franklin Avenue, Lake Street, Central, and Broadway. Lots of small businesses with on street parking was the answer. Not freeway streets and large off street surface parking lots. We need a wall of small business lining streets, with on street parking where possible. For almost ten years I worked, and fed my family, at a business with NO off street parking. That business was only successful because of on-street parking and would have died without it. "Rush hours" is not when business needs street parking, it needs it during "business hours". When I go to Kinko's at Lake and Hennepin, I do so because of street parking. I can park, throw a quarter in the meter, and run in to get my stuff. (I do not park at the Calhoun parking ramp!) I would not go there if that on-street parking option was not available. The same is true of the many small businesses on Lake Street, and on Central Avenue, stores that I frequent often. Take away that on-street parking and Lake Street will die. So, either leave the on-street parking alone, or buy out all the existing businesses and building owners that would be damaged by not having such parking. If the City wants an Urban freeway then mitigate the harm done by creating one. It is the only fair and just thing to do. After all, people bought buildings, and people rented businesses, with the expectation of having that off-street parking. Killing the parking destroys their business. Perhaps the plan is to kill the vitality of such Streets to make way for new development "opportunities" for friends, but in so doing the heart and soul of the City will also be shot. Lake Street has less traffic now than in the middle sixties when it was truly vital and wonderful . Back then it also had a lot of people parking on the streets. Let's return to that time, not have Lake become a "Ghetto-Dales". Jim Graham, Ventura Village, Phillips Community Planning District, Sixth Ward, of Minneapolis REMINDERS: 1. Think a member has violated the rules? Email the list manager at [EMAIL PROTECTED] before continuing it on the list. 2. Don't feed the troll! Ignore obvious flame-bait. For state and national discussions see: http://e-democracy.org/discuss.html For external forums, see: http://e-democracy.org/mninteract ________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A City-focused Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Un-subscribe, etc. at: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
