My goodness, I got some honest-to-God parking-related hate mail this weekend. Here’s the oh-so-inflammatory article: http:\/\/t.co\/OjKMMkfh2p<\/a><\/p>\n\u2014 Trevor J. Adams (@HalifaxEditor) December 16, 2013<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\nBrowsing through online comments, it seems that many people who complain about traffic and parking downtown, just don’t like Downtown. I love Downtown. You might think I\u2019d be frustrated by the Downtown bashing, but I\u2019m not. Some people don\u2019t like Downtown. That\u2019s fine. Different strokes for different folks.<\/p>\n
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What does bug me is when people bash Downtown because it\u2019s not a business park or a mall. Comments like, “but parking\u2019s free in Bayer\u2019s Lake” or “it\u2019s so crowded Downtown” aren\u2019t really constructive criticisms.\u00a0Let\u2019s have a smarter conversation about Downtown.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s think differently about the following issues:<\/p>\n
Parking<\/b><\/p>\n
Downtown Halifax does not have a parking problem. Downtown Halifax has an accessibility problem. It\u2019s too difficult to get Downtown, whether you walk, drive, bike or take Metro Transit. Driver\u2019s concerns resonate with many people, but if you experience Downtown mostly as a driver, you miss a lot of other issues. Space is at a premium Downtown, and there simply isn\u2019t room for everyone to park. Halifax needs a much better transit system so that more people can easily get downtown without a car. Metro Transit has just proposed bold changes to the transit system<\/a>, which is an excellent start.<\/p>\nThere\u2019s a perception that there is a lack of parking downtown, but there are often hundreds of available spots. What\u2019s tough is finding a spot<\/i>. On-street parking is especially difficult to find. Smart cities are using technology to make it easier to find parking. SF Park <\/a>in San Francisco is one of the most ambitious programs. In brief, parking prices are adjusted up or down based on demand, so that you can always find a parking space near your location. Parking is often more expensive, but what use is cheap parking if you can never find a spot?<\/p>\n![\"downtown](\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2014\/01\/downtownparking-600x400.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nCheap and<\/i> available parking only happens when there is lots of extra parking. \u00a0There\u2019s not enough cheap land downtown to provide more parking. It\u2019s impossible to provide both cheap and plentiful parking Downtown, so let\u2019s stop pretending that cheap and plentiful parking is a potential solution to Downtown\u2019s problems. Instead, let\u2019s look to parking guru Donald Schoup <\/a>to see how we can make it easier to find a parking spot. Let’s look at variable cost parking. All of those empty spots near the top of parking garages – how about making those spots cheaper? It would be just like the nosebleed seats at sporting events – the higher you go, the less you pay. More people could park downtown, and the parkades would gain revenue. And how about electronic signs, websites, maps and apps that tell you where parking is available, and how much it costs? Something like these systems<\/a>.<\/p>\nThe Suburbs<\/b><\/b><\/p>\n
Downtown is not a suburb. Downtown has to compete with suburban big box stores, suburban office parks and suburban housing, but Downtown can\u2019t and shouldn\u2019t compete on suburban terms. In Downtown, parking will always be scarce and expensive. Rents will be higher, and space will be limited. Homes will be smaller and streets will often be congested. These issues exist in many downtowns, but they only seem debilitating when thinking about downtown from a suburban perspective. Even though many people prefer the suburbs, it doesn\u2019t mean that Downtown has to offer suburban amenities to be successful.<\/p>\n
![\"Roy](\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/roybuilding-600x449.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nThere are tens of thousands of people living in and around Downtown Halifax. People often pay a premium to live in the city because they value being near Downtown. We need to acknowledge that the urban areas – the Peninsula and Old Dartmouth – are Downtown\u2019s primary market. Let\u2019s make it easier and more desirable for these people to come Downtown more often. \u00a0One of the best ways to do this is to redesign our bus network to provide fast, frequent and reliable services – which we’re going to do<\/a>! One of Downtown\u2019s strengths is nearby neighbourhoods \u2013we should focus on the connections between those neighbourhoods.<\/p>\nPlacemaking<\/b><\/p>\n
Downtown isn\u2019t very clean. There are too many empty shops, too many poorly maintained buildings, too much surface parking, and too much litter. Downtown is sort of shabby. We should clean up Downtown, but to really help Downtown, we have to do more than clean. We need to create great public spaces that people love visiting. Placemaking – making beautiful, bustling, unique places – is hard but crucial work.<\/p>\n
We can start by learning lessons from Jan Gehl<\/a> , William H. Whyte<\/a> and Project for Public Spaces<\/a>: prioritize pedestrians over vehicles; design outdoor spaces that are intimate and protected from the weather; \u00a0create beauty at every scale and for every season; involve the community in designing, caring for and enjoying our streets and parks; encourage year round activities \u2013 music, dance, theatre, people-watching, cafes, kite flying, sun bathing, street festivals, ice skating, ball-hockey, art-shows, soap-box derbies, etc.<\/p>\n![\"granville](\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2014\/01\/granvillemall-600x400.jpg\")
<\/a><\/p>\nMost importantly we need to study how people use and enjoy public spaces and improve the parks and streets that aren\u2019t working. Cornwallis Park, Grand Parade, Granville Mall, Citadel Hill and parts of the waterfront are all either shabby, dull or both. Committing to placemaking can change these areas into places that draw people into Downtown. Halifax already has some good proposals for Spring Garden Road<\/a> and Argyle Street<\/a>. Let\u2019s get these projects built.<\/p>\nInformation<\/b><\/p>\n
There\u2019s often talk of restaurants closing, businesses moving, or offices emptying out in the Downtown, but is anyone keeping track of these numbers? If not, how are we supposed to know what\u2019s really happening? Some parts of Downtown are thriving (Spring Garden and the south of Barrington), but other parts are struggling (central Barrington and Blowers). Without numbers it\u2019s tough to say how Downtown as a whole is doing. It would be better to have data instead of just anecdotal evidence. If this information is collected and available, it needs to play a bigger role in discussions about Downtown.<\/p>\n
Still don\u2019t like Downtown? That\u2019s still ok. <\/b><\/p>\n
There are clearly problems with Downtown, but there are some encouraging signs. New apartments and office space are under construction, both in and around Downtown. There are plans for better public spaces and better transit. Big public projects such as the Convention Centre<\/a> and Central Library<\/a> are under construction.<\/p>\n![\"Halifax-Central-Library-by-Schmidt-Hammer-Lassen-Architects-03\"](\"http:\/\/spacing.ca\/atlantic\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/8\/2014\/01\/Halifax-Central-Library-by-Schmidt-Hammer-Lassen-Architects-03-600x204.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Looking only at what Downtown lacks, or looking only at what isn‘t working i<\/span>s unproductive. Neither is directly comparing Downtown to Dartmouth Crossing or Bayer\u2019s Lake. Instead of talking about Burnside, let\u2019s look to other downtowns that are revitalizing<\/a>. What are they doing right? What could work in Halifax?\u00a0 There is a real opportunity to revitalize our beautiful Downtown, but we need to focus on Downtown\u2019s unique strengths.<\/p>\nComplaining about parking isn\u2019t good enough.<\/p>\n
Photo by Dean Bouchard, shaunckenny<\/a>, Corey Harmon<\/a>,\u00a0kandisebrown<\/a>, and\u00a0Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"