PT BLOG from Page 36
replace the need to get control of on-street parking. … Indeed—why would someone park in an off-street facil- ity if they could simply leave their vehicle anywhere they likedwithout fear of any penalty. The leading edge of any parking programis good enforcement. Paul’s biggest fear is that the countries in Asia are making
all the mistakes the U.S. market made with zoning and parking requirements, and need to consider a more “adaptive” approach to their parking issues. He is attempting to show that many of the issues we have
in our central cities were caused by policies instituted decades ago and that Asian cities can dodge the bullet, so to speak, by adopting policies that prevent the problems from occurring rather than having to “fix” them later.
You Have to Know the Answers Before You Ask the Questions
(Posted Oct. 26) TheWestfield Group is the largest shipping center owner
in Australia, if not the planet. They are beginning to charge for parking at their properties, and this appears to be causing a par- ticular uproar with employees at one such site, with people who work nearby and with their neighbors, reports the Queens- land’s Courier-Mail newspaper’s website. I will parse the situation at the North Brisbane Westfield
retail center for the three of you who can’t see what’s going on. As soon as paid parking began, people who worked in near-
by office buildings had to find a place to park. Commuters who took the bus from nearby bus stops had to find other places to park. Employees cut out of the limited number of employee spaces were looking for places to park. And, of course, they all want to park for free. Westfield spent many millions to build parking for their
Chermside shopping center’s customers, and frankly, it seems, they want parking for their customers, the bloody capitalist swine. The first three hours are free, then they hit you for $2 for the next hour, and up to $20 for more than seven hours. Obviously, this last charge is to get people who were parking all day and taking the bus, or working in nearby stores, offices and shops. A quote: “AWestfield spokeswoman said the paid system
ran smoothly [its first day in late October], with shoppers easi- ly finding parking. ‘We have received positive feedback from customers on the ease of finding convenient car spaces, and the center has strong visitation numbers,’ she said.” It’s not about charging for Westfield; it’s about making parking available for their customers.Wow, paid parking works.
Retail Sales Are Up in December— Must Be the Free Parking
(Posted Oct. 26) PT Correspondent Charlie points out thatmerchants want
free parking and use almost any reason to justify it. An article (“Has Paid Parking Time Expired?”) in a Canadian publica- tion, the London Free Press, makes some good points, but los- es a tad of credibility with this quote: “With the London [Ontario] Downtown Business Associ-
Parking Today
www.parkingtoday.com
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