According to Sam and Jim Commenting on things that irk us off, make us laugh out loud or just seem too weird too believe According to Sam and Jim: So Many Cars, So Little Parking. What's Up With That?

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

So Many Cars, So Little Parking. What's Up With That?

“Drive it or park it, bub!”

Ever said that to someone? Maybe the poor bozo impeding your hurry-up-and-go progress can’t find a parking place. That’s hard to do in our crowded cities these days. And our politicians don’t make it any easier.

A recent Seattle Times editorial decrys a “proposal being considered by the City Council that in commercial and multifamily zones outside of urban centers, the parking requirement be abolished for all new apartment buildings within 1,300 feet of a well-served bus stop or light-rail station.”

The idea, of course, is to relax regulations that discourage investment and development. The city of Seattle already has rules that say if a developer encourages the use of mass transit or another form of transit other than a car, the developers will be allowed to add another 20-30 apartments in their complexes.

But, as the Times correctly points out. “To allow the spread of housing without parking is utopian and anti-family. It is utopian to think that many people will abandon their cars. A few will, but the vast majority who can afford market-priced housing in Seattle will have a motor vehicle, now and always. If they have a vehicle, they will park it — somewhere.”

Exactly. So, people who need to park their cars are being denied access to their vehicles by the city and unscrupulous profiteers are going to take advantage of the situation. How long do you think it will be before Seattleites are paying $167,000 for a space like people reportedly are doing in Hong Kong?

It’s the same everywhere.

Colleges are really bad about providing parking spaces for students. Seems like every time a college announces the erection of a new building they say they’re going to erect the building on what once was a student parking area. Those ivory-tower thinkers figure anyone attending college is green-minded enough not to drive a car. This generally only succeeds in clogging neighborhoods in the vicinity of the college with student vehicles and ticking off residents who can’t park in front of their own homes or get into or out of their driveways.

This whole business of denying us parking is an attempt to bludgeon us into embracing mass transit, rapid transit - so-called public transportation. Now Sound Transit, according to Mike Lindblom of the Seattle Times, is going to “experiment” with charging people to use park-and-ride lots, which “often overflow with cars each weekday.”

America is a country built around the idea that we’re going to drive somewhere. Look at how much driving in this country has increased since toll roads, turnpikes and freeways were built. Nearly 16 million cars were bought annually in the U.S. between 2000 and 2007. This year sales should come close to 14 million. Nearly 60 million cars are produced worldwide every year.

Personally, I’d rather ride my bicycle than ride public transportation. Only problem with riding my bike is Sam’s not crazy about riding along, I don’t have the leg strength I should have and I don’t like the idea of getting run over. Several bicyclists have been killed in these parts recently by inattentive drivers.

Sam and I don’t know about anyone else, but the high price and scarcity of gas, and the robber-baron prices for car repairs will make us give up driving sooner than lack of a parking space. Shoot, I just circle the block or the parking lot a few times until someone moves his or her car and voila. Just like I always tell Kathleen, “God loves me. He’ll open up a spot.”

Three bags of poop on you developers and political morons who don’t want to give us parking spaces.



1 comment:

  1. Speaking of inattentive drivers, you should learn what a green turn signal light means and how to actually drive your truck. Some of us have places to go and don't want to be stuck behind some moron who's apparently conversing with his dog.

    And according to your post, I see you're a socialist who believes that we the taxpayers should provide unlimited parking to senior citizens who do nothing but mooch off of society. Nice. Hope you enjoy your social security check every month.

    ReplyDelete