Parking is an issue regardless if it near a LRT station, in downtown, or near a neighborhood shopping district. The parking problem is particularly onerous for residential neighborhoods near popular destinations. Everytime I dine at the Malt Shop (809 W 50th St), I wonder how my parking on a residential
street is affecting the livability of that neighborhood. However, since I pay property taxes to the City, I know I have just as much parking rights as do the residents of that neighborhood.
However, this is not to say that I should not pay for the parking congestion to which I contribute. I propose that neighborhoods be allowed to create Residential Parking Districts where local residents park for free and non-residents pay a fee, based upon the level of parking congestion, for the use of a curbside parking space. Set this parking fee such that 20% of the parking spaces typically remain open. That is, as the spaces fill up, the fee rises. This will result in a parking space usually being available for someone who really wants to pay the fee or for a resident (who parks for free). Also, let the fees collected from this scheme go towards neighborhood street repairs, trash pickup, beautification projects, and other livability issues that pertain to parking and traffic.
With this scheme, residents see parking as a resource from which they can derive benefit and the fee structure helps manage parking congestion.
For a more thorough discussion of parking and pricing, see Buying Time at the Curb (http://lsb.scu.edu/~dklein/Half_Life/buying_time.pdf).
Scott McGerik http://scott.mcgerik.com/ Hawthorne
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