Then in a while people wonder why the city center is dying. People stop visiting, stores close and get replace by boring-ass chains that can survive on a loss.
According to another comment, this rate hike is needed to patch a budget deficit.
Car centric urban design is too expensive for the stakeholders to pay for it. So sooner or later you’ll either see suffocating fees or decaying infrastructure.
This happens in some part of downtown here, mainly the business district. It’s dead during any part of the day other than noon on weekdays. The reason isn’t high fees, it’s just that it’s a boring part of the city center where there’s nothing to do and it’s very very car focused. Not a lot of interesting places can sustain by catering to cars. Every other part that isn’t infested with cars is vibrant with life at any time of day. Raising parking fees, removing parking and removing car trafic has the opposite effect : it makes it so that the city center stops suffocating under cars.
Unfortunately, the idea of the city center being sustained by suburbs with cars is just a myth. It’s mostly strangled by them in most north american cities. It can sustain on it’s own by catering to the population that lives in them or close by. And if there’s not enough population, densify. A focus on active transportation and public transit is the way to go.
Then in a while people wonder why the city center is dying. People stop visiting, stores close and get replace by boring-ass chains that can survive on a loss.
At least this is the case in my city.
But yeah fuck cars and all.
According to another comment, this rate hike is needed to patch a budget deficit.
Car centric urban design is too expensive for the stakeholders to pay for it. So sooner or later you’ll either see suffocating fees or decaying infrastructure.
Parking outside city center and then public transit/walking to the city 🥳
This happens in some part of downtown here, mainly the business district. It’s dead during any part of the day other than noon on weekdays. The reason isn’t high fees, it’s just that it’s a boring part of the city center where there’s nothing to do and it’s very very car focused. Not a lot of interesting places can sustain by catering to cars. Every other part that isn’t infested with cars is vibrant with life at any time of day. Raising parking fees, removing parking and removing car trafic has the opposite effect : it makes it so that the city center stops suffocating under cars.
Unfortunately, the idea of the city center being sustained by suburbs with cars is just a myth. It’s mostly strangled by them in most north american cities. It can sustain on it’s own by catering to the population that lives in them or close by. And if there’s not enough population, densify. A focus on active transportation and public transit is the way to go.