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The parking issue is overblown. People need to learn how to utilize garages and not be afraid to park a few blocks from their destination.
It's a cultural change. People are not used to Columbia having the challenges that most cities experience. Since we love making comparisons, let's think about parking in Charleston. Given that the city is incredibly dense, most people probably expect to having difficulty finding street parking and therefore are more inclined to pay to park in a garage to avoid the headache.
Columbia, on the other hand, at least visibly has plenty of surface parking, giving the allusion that it the city should not have the same parking issues. Of course much of this parking is reserved for certain buildings or for the state, but most people will not take that caveat into account when thinking of the CBD. The attitude will start to change when development swallows these lots and downtown starts to resemble other cities at the ground level.
Last edited by carolinagarnet; 08-09-2017 at 08:20 AM..
It's a cultural change. People are not used to Columbia having the challenges that most cities experience. Since we love making comparisons, let's think about parking in Charleston. Given that the city is incredibly dense, most people probably expect to having difficulty finding street parking and therefore are more inclined to pay to park in a garage to avoid the headache.
Columbia, on the other hand, at least visibly has plenty of surface parking, giving the allusion that it the city should not have the same parking issues. Of course much of this parking is reserved for certain buildings or for the state, but most people will not take that caveat into account when thinking of the CBD. The attitude will start to change when development swallows these lots and downtown starts to resemble other cities at the ground level.
I never stopped patronizing downtown. I never stopped promoting it, even at the depths of its desertion, when the main reason people would give me for not going there was the lack of parking. Even in Charleston I have no parking problems since I don't expect to park next to where I'm going. The person in the article who said she circled the block five times must be handicapped.
It's a cultural change. People are not used to Columbia having the challenges that most cities experience. Since we love making comparisons, let's think about parking in Charleston. Given that the city is incredibly dense, most people probably expect to having difficulty finding street parking and therefore are more inclined to pay to park in a garage to avoid the headache.
Columbia, on the other hand, at least visibly has plenty of surface parking, giving the allusion that it the city should not have the same parking issues. Of course much of this parking is reserved for certain buildings or for the state, but most people will not take that caveat into account when thinking of the CBD. The attitude will start to change when development swallows these lots and downtown starts to resemble other cities at the ground level.
I've learned that side streets away from the main drags are relatively easy places to find a parking space in downtown Charleston.
Very few people actually complain about parking. The ones who do are typically those who prefer suburban areas, and are not really a target demo for downtown anyway.
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