As far as I'm concerned, the fewer parking lots and ramps, the better. We have better things to do with the space, and frankly, more difficulty finding parking encourages use of human powered or mass transit options. In San Francisco, I've heard estimates that at any given time, there are 10,000 more cars in the city than total parking spots. In Boston, New York, and even Madison, many people don't even bother owning a car. I do admit that I am biased as I find the numerous cars far more troublesome than the "small" number of spots to put them.
For someone who walks, bicycles, or takes the train/bus, living in all of those cities was easier than it is here in Minneapolis. (Although, in Boston, getting home late at night could a challenge - the transit system shut down exactly at bar time.) While I understand that people may not like having cars parked in front of your houses, you live in the city, not the suburbs. Any area that has something that draws people has this problem. It isn't really much of a personal issue as I don't drive a car, but I've noticed heavy parking demands in Uptown, Downtown, Loring Park, the University area, etc. The street in front of your house is not your personal property. If anyone (including you) leaves a vehicle there for too long (I think it is a day or two), they can be towed. Everyone has as much of a right to park on that piece of pavement as it is yours. My street has recently gained some households that have a larger-than-average number of working adults living there. Many of them seem to drive cars, and they don't have enough space to fit them all in front of their houses. Many evenings, they end up parked in front of mine. It is a bummer to me to see all those cars, but I've got no right to be offended at which parking spot they choose to use. People getting all upset about this remind me of my neighbor. The man used to shout and even swear at my tenants or guests if they parked even partially in front of his house. Once he swore at a friend and I when we parked a rental truck with the back in front of my front walk because this left the cab in front of his house. I don't encourage it, but that friend now parks in front of the neighbor's house even if there are spots in front of mine. I'm pretty sure he'll stop if the neighbor ever apologizes for his foul language, but they both seem to be very stubborn men. Those who use passive aggressive (or regular aggressive) intimidation to keep people from using the public streets near your houses may well scare off the timid, but you may also find that your actions bring unwanted responses in kind. In any case, it is bad Karma. If you want a private parking spot, pave part of your yard. If you want a free parking spot, you're going to have to share it with the rest of the society who paid for it. Or of course, you could always give up your car, and then it wouldn't matter to you, either. Look at the bright side: If your kids want to set up a lemonade stand, they'll get more business, if you have a garage sale, it will do better, and neighborhood businesses should be more prosperous. If none of this sounds good to you, perhaps you would be more happy living in the suburbs. - Jason Goray Sheridan, NE http://www.xanga.com/rphaedrus (I wish I had a LRT line near enough that I had this "problem".) __________________________________ Do you Yahoo!? Yahoo! Mail Address AutoComplete - You start. We finish. http://promotions.yahoo.com/new_mail 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
