Skip to main content

Free thoughts on a parking garage in downtown The Dalles

 The last thing this planet needs is more rebar and concrete poured out to support our automobile centered world.  Yet the City of The Dalles has concluded the need for a mutli-level parking structure in downtown The Dalles is inevitabe.  The task force outlined several options to increase parking availability downtown especially for employees of downtown businesses.  Most of these ideas repurpose existing infrastructure in order to increase availability of automobile parking downtown.  The task force concluded that ultimately none of the existing infrastructure will support the needs of downtown long term; a parking garage would eventually be necessary.

 Let me assert there is a longterm solution to the downtown parking problem that does not require investing further into the fading automobile age.  As the task force stated we do need employee only parking and time limits for general parking.  The problem I have is the task force suggests these limits be enforced "just by signage", which is another way of saying they will not enforced at all.  If meters were installed along downtown streets this problem would solve itself.  Customers wouldn't want to take up a parking space too long lest they be fined and employees would likely not park in these spots at all due to the high cost.

 With parking meters the city would have additional revenue which could be used for other improvements like bicycle parking structures which cost a hell of a lot less than multi-level automobile parking garages.  With meters in place customers may question whether taking the car downtown is worth the parking fee and opt to walk or bike.  The whole town is within biking distance of downtown for a healthy adult and some neighborhoods are within comfortable walking distance.  Likewise parking for employees could come with a small usage fee increasing revenues.  Again employees may opt for the free parking that comes with cycling instead of paying this small usage fee.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/52/ParkAndRideSignOxford20050910.JPG
 The Dalles Transportation System Plan team has put together several potential improvements for cyclist and pedestrians as well as concluding that a bus system for the city is possibly viable.  These projects should be prioritized above any new parking structure.

It's time to stop designing cities around the insane notion that people need a five person motorcariage to haul them wherever they go.

Labels:
Location: The Dalles, OR 97058, USA

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Three Books for Novice Investors

    I have only been seriously investing for about sixth months now.  I say "seriously" because I have attempted to invest for about 5 years but it looked a lot like this ...  So my only successes have been in investing in index funds.  Which If you don't have the time or energy to pick your own investments is the best way to go, in my opinion.       Almost all of my "education" has come through reading a handful of books. The Richest Man In Babylon     The Richest Man in Babylon comes all the way from the deep dark past of 1920's America.  It is series of stories and parables set in ancient Babylon and designed to teach financial wisdom.  The book stresses discipline and prudence, consistently saving, avoiding debt, not investing in risky ventures etc.  I have to wonder if people in the 1920's had taken his advice if the whole financial mess that followed wouldn't have happe...
Post a Comment
Read more

Lunch time in The Dirty!

    The Dalles has quite a few restaurants relative to it's size.  Some are great some are down right bad.       These are my five favorite places to eat lunch in The Dalles in no particular order.  Some are old favorites and others are relatively new establishments.  All serve delicious food and drink. Montira's Thai     Montira's is the only thai place in town.  But that lack of competition doesn't keep them from delivering a quality product.  Other restaurants of the Asian  variety  have them beat as far as portion size and price go but they  serve  a quality product consistently.  I can't say that about many other places in town.     Montira's serves really great food for a decent price.  Just be warned if you ask for extra-spicy you will feel it all the next day...  But its worth it if you really like spicy. Spooky's     Spooky's is one of t...
2 comments
Read more

Favorite Things: May 2018 Edition

New series of monthly (my intentions at least) things I'm really enjoying... Ride Report Ride Report  is an app which uses your phone's location data to automatically keep track of your bike rides.  For each ride it asks you a simple survey "How was your ride."  After collecting enough survey data from rides Ride Report can generate a map showing the worst and best rides for a city.  Some cities are even using this data to make better transportation decisions.   I'm not sure if this app will work at a smaller scale for a city like The Dalles, but the idea is very cool.  The more people the use it the more helpful it will be.  At this point I've only ever said my rides were great and being the only user in town this is very unscientific. I highly recommend using this app for fun and better city planning or at least better informed fellow cyclists. Libby Libby is an app which allows you to borrow ebooks through your local library....
Post a Comment
Read more