I assume you’re referring to the Third Ward, where rates were raised around the turn of the year. Do they not have the new electronic machines to pay with credit cards?

Raising parking prices downtown on the street would actually make it easier to park by opening up more spots. People don’t complain about the price often, they complain about the hassle.

It’s a tough issue.

I agree with some of your ideas on raising the cost of metered parking, which has been suggested elsewhere, but then you have to confront the reality of all the restaurants, retail, and other businesses that already have to work against the misperception that Downtown is a parking hell.

As far as what to do, giving handouts to the parking lot owners will just spur them to buy more land and turn it in to parking lots. You will see lots disappear when they can make it expensive to have a parking lot Downtown. Mandate that if cars are parked in them, they must have an attendant on duty. Initiate a land-value tax that taxes on what the land could become given its zoning, focus less on its use. I’m sure there’s more options and opinions out there how to shrink the lots. Overall good article.

Thanks for the interesting article on parking supply downtown. I have a question regarding the point that new development frequently requires structured parking. Is this a regulatory issue, i.e. in the zoning code? Or is this a priority for lenders involved in larger developments?

Jon

Eliminating free street parking and surface parking lots would allow new developments to come. New mixed use developments would eliminate the need to drive for more and more people. The new developments would also further encourage the development of a transit system (or serious repair of the one we have now).

The street parking system proposed also would encourage more bike lanes and better streets, further eliminating the need for driving.

As more and more people jump off their cars (which I have witnessed many do this summer with gas prices), car share programs become a reality, so that you have the car when you need it.

You’re absolutely right, my argument doesn’t make much sense if you assume that everyone keeps their car. My idea is to enable more people to get rid of their car, and even more than that to drastically reduce their usage.

Your entire argument doesn’t make a lot of sense in the fact that you want to elimenate parking so developers can build more parking! Even if they did add that parking the people who use it have to spend that much extra each month to do so.

Cheap and available parking and the easy of getting around are some of the great aspects of downtown milwaukee that make our city superior to many others our size and larger. Lets not give that up so easily. Natural demand will create new developments as they would normally arise in due course. Lets let that demand happen and/or spur it in ways that do not ruin some of the greatest aspects of our city.