





I realize that we need some parking, obviously. We already have some parking. But it seems like every large project comes with hundreds of parking spots. We're entrenching the car dominance. And the main part of downtown is well served by transit and even still, every new condo building there is loaded with parking spots, so I don't think that's the only thing. Everyone who wants to live in or near downtown and work downtown has to have a car? I don't understand it. What's the point of having a dense urban area at all then? Condos downtown shouldn't be like suburban homes, where every adult has their own car and people never leave the house except via a heated garage.5th Ave Guy wrote:I actually think these projects are doing a good job of replacing the parking they're taking with spaces that are pretty hidden from view (short of putting them all underground, which isn't an option here). Even urban neighborhoods need some parking. The train by itself isn't a total solution for transportation... better bus service would certainly help.
Like I said, I understand that we need some parking. But it seems like we're adding more than we possibly need, and it seems especially strange when every condo project comes with a slew of parking spaces. And then we wonder why no one walks or takes transit, even for trips inside the city.5th Ave Guy wrote:For these commercial projects that have tenants that primarily don't live downtown or in the North Loop, I'm not sure the project would even be viable without the additional parking. The train doesn't really serve the neighborhood well and bus service is awful. Seems like it would be a tough sell to get commitments without it, right?
I'm not trying to force people to not use their cars, but if you provide lots of parking, you are encouraging car dependence. More car dependence leads to more traffic, and more parking which leads to more car use, which leads to more parking and less transit. It's a self reinforcing cycle. Once the parking is built, you'll never get rid of it, so we should try to limit (not eliminate) the amount of parking that is built.go4guy wrote:Hopefully when these tenants move into this office building, employees will move downtown and not require car use. If the ramp is not fully used, the next developer will include less and less parking in future projects. You can't force people to not use their cars, you have to let it happen organically.
I didn't realize that some didn't have parking at all. I suppose that's good.VAStationDude wrote:How many built residential projects have been granted a variance to exceed the downtown parking maximum? The Shamrock Portland project is the only one that comes to mind.
Plenty of projects have been built without increasing the number of parking spaces downtown. Latitude 45, 100 Hennepin and Soo Line come to mind.
I never realized there was a rail corridor right there.DanB wrote:Project has been appealed by Herschel Lofts Homeowners Association and NNLL who have hired an attorney (I hope this doesn't indicate a court battle is in the offing). They primarily take issue with the section of the office building over the rail corridor, the presence of the parking ramp, and having vehicular access off of N 3rd St.
http://www.minneapolismn.gov/meetings/l ... MSP-192418
Return to “Minneapolis - Downtown”
Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests