The earlier
posts:
We are all banking on our own vision for the future of our neighborhood
In my vision
for the neighborhood, we will focus on making our streets friendlier and safer
for people by reducing car traffic.
In my vision
for the neighborhood, we will welcome development that contributes needed
services to support our long-time and elderly residents, as well as the newer
people who are investing in and improving older homes.
In my vision
for the neighborhood, we will build a lively and livable urban neighborhood
that is attractive to anyone who wants proximity to downtown, our lakes, and
our river.
In my vision
for the neighborhood, we will prioritize people and value parks, green space, walkability
and local schools and business.
The
development, as proposed, asks for an exception to be made to the official requirements
in place for parking spaces per square feet of building space. The exception
would be made not because the parking isn't needed but based on a presumption
that the surrounding neighborhood can absorb the cars.
Alder Ledell
Zellers clarified the details of the special request succinctly on the
neighborhood listserv:
"The
[proposed Frank Productions] concert hall would require parking stalls equal to
20% of the capacity of persons, or 500 stalls for a 2,500 capacity venue. Thus,
they are asking for a reduction of 240 stalls (48%)."
Stone HouseDevelopment and Frank Productions, who would own and run the 2,000-2,500 seat
music venue, have commissioned a parking study by a consulting group that
seeks out "place-based design solutions." The parking study was
presented at a public meeting with the neighborhood steering committee a week
ago with the claim that is supports their argument. Iit has not yet been given to
the steering committee for closer inspection.
My
pro-bike/pedestrian bias tends not to trust parking and traffic studies. These
are the kinds of expert advice that cause planners to add lanes to highways in
order to handle traffic problems.
Biking home
from work today, I started counting. The commissioned parking experts counted “all
the parking spots” on the streets as a baseline. I decided to count houses without
off street parking. In other words, houses with residents who depend on street
parking.
I counted 37
houses with no off-street parking. The range of the commissioned study is
larger; I was counting only between the 700-1100 blocks of East Mifflin and
East Dayton Streets, as well as on the single block of the streets that cross
them.
The value of
those residences is based, at least to some degree, on the availability of
street parking. We used to own one of those houses. When we put it up for sale
in a competitive market, we learned the real value of off-street parking.
We are traffic?
When I moved
to Madison in 2001, my first friends were made at Critical
Mass bike rides. So when one of these long-time acquaintances shared
his thoughts on the proposed development for the 1000 block of East Washington,
it got me thinking.
He wrote:
"Speaking as an advocate for alternative transportation, the lack of car
parking is a HUGE positive - as parking INDUCES automobile use. We cannot let
our fear of the safety impact of automobiles fool us into creating more
infrastructure for automobiles that actually increases the overall risk. With
proposed (but on hold for now) commuter rail stops only a few blocks away, this
is a prime location to generate rail traffic."
My friend's
comment reminded me that I have gotten quite distracted by the more-than-obvious
parking issue.
I want the
answer to be that we don't need to drive everywhere. I want to move smartly
into the next era of planning, and living, when we build for people, not cars. I
truly wish we were talking about where the commuter rail stops should be
instead of parking problems.
Sharing a Vision & Building a Future Here
The future
of this neighborhood is up for speculation. We are all guessing about what
causes and effects will play out.
City
Planners deemed the neighborhood worthy of special help in 2005. A City Planner
recently explained a Tax Incremental Financing District (TID) as a progressive
and effective measure to jump-start projects in areas where developers are
nervous about investing.
More specifically,
the TID “froze” property values in the designated area at 2005 values. All
while this TID is in place (possibly until 2032 though not necessarily),
all taxing entities are drawing money based on these 2005 property values.
In other words, the City, the County, MATC, and MMSD benefit from a 2005
value for their tax base. However, if the properties actually increase in
value, which is the aim, the “increment” of taxes over and above the 2005
rate goes back into the TID. Then, when the TID closes, the full benefit of the
taxes goes to all the entities as per usual.
The proposed
project is the kind of thing a TID is meant to inspire (though the proposed location is outside the Cap East TID and would require an extension be made). It’s
important to note that Tax Incremental Financing is also meant to “provide funds to construct public infrastructure” and “generate value growth.”
Parking continues
to be a big problem but it is not the only one. Parking is,
however, something concrete to talk about. It is much harder to articulate the
more nuanced reasons why a large concert venue feels wrong for our
neighborhood.
What is our
VISION for the neighborhood?
As always, email Alder Zellers and David Waugh, Steering Committee Chair, with your concerns and ideas.
No comments:
Post a Comment