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Remove parking from nob hill and all those businesses would die. There simply isn't enough people in the immediate area or people that are going to ride the bus.
I'm surprised by how many people chimed in defending surface parking lots!
Other than the place where you can park your giant wheelchair is there any other purpose they serve you?
What about rooftop parking? If you could build nice buildings without removing any spots then who's that hurting?
I heard Phoenix has altered its climate from all the open parking lots. When it's just the dirt the ground cools at night and breezes go thru, but when it's paved, it gets hot in the day and radiates heat at night, stopping the night breezes and keeping the polluted air stagnant.
Most people don't see the parking lots as an eyesore just because they've become so used to it.
By the way does anybody have a statistic on what percentage of Albuquerque is asphalt?
I heard Phoenix has altered its climate from all the open parking lots. When it's just the dirt the ground cools at night and breezes go thru, but when it's paved, it gets hot in the day and radiates heat at night, stopping the night breezes and keeping the polluted air stagnant.
This is not Phoenix...
I have no doubt the climate of Albuquerque has been altered due to "asphalt"... People have probably altered the climate due to their activities. Your gardens which you continue to force onto the area have probably altered the climate. Why is our water aquifer level dropped?
There is a fine balance between living environmentally sound and realistically. But we could just blame the parking lot problems on people who might not choose your lifestyle and ignore all the other problems...
And you think just building "nice buildings without removing any spots" is going to fix the Phoenix problem? Won't that attract more people? Then more people pollution? etc, etc, etc...
I have no doubt the climate of Albuquerque has been altered due to "asphalt"... People have probably altered the climate due to their activities. Your gardens which you continue to force onto the area have probably altered the climate. Why is our water aquifer level dropped?
There is a fine balance between living environmentally sound and realistically. But we could just blame the parking lot problems on people who might not choose your lifestyle and ignore all the other problems...
And you think just building "nice buildings without removing any spots" is going to fix the Phoenix problem? Won't that attract more people? Then more people pollution? etc, etc, etc...
Rich
Phoenix had Albuquerque's population around 1960-70, and while there are significant differences between the two cities, the general building patterns tend to be simliar. Whatever caused Phoenix's population boom may or may not happen in Albuquerque, but the general trend is growth, like it or not.
And the major 'people pollution' you speak of is mainly 'automobile pollution.' Farts are people pollution. Engine exhaust is car pollution. Both are unpleasant but to different extents. If everybody in Mexico City farted at the same time it would probably actually improve the air quality. Maybe not but you get my drift. . .
I do agree with you that water usage is a legitimate concern, and regardless of potential growth it needs to be addressed. I thought it was a bit wasteful that we use clean tap water for toilets, but I found out about greywater systems that recycle water from the kitchen sink, shower and bathroom sink, as well as the washing machine, to be used as toilet water or gardening water.
Pretty much what I'm trying to say here is that while there are problems, there are also solutions to those problems. I don't think any one thing alone can fix the 'Phoenix problem.'
Ever since I was a kid I wanted Albuquerque to become a big city so it would be less boring, but all I've seen in terms of growth are cheap looking houses, buildings and lots and lots of surface parking lots. In Albuquerque you "have to drive to get around" but that's only the case as long as people allow it to be. When the percieved need for cars is gone we can do so many way better things with the land than cover it with asphalt.
Last edited by abqpsychlist; 12-31-2011 at 04:27 AM..
Reason: grammar
Surface parking lots proliferated in downtowns, including here, starting in earnest after WWII along with freeway connections into downtowns as a way to "save" the downtowns by making it easier for people to get there. The property tax structure also made it much cheaper to own a property without a building on it that with, so vacant and underutilized old buildings were demolished by blocks, everywhere. City planners (of which I am one} made a lot of bad decisons back then, one being that anyone would WANT to come into a downtown covered with parking lots. What happened is that people came to work downtown, parked easily, and left at 5 because there was nothing else to do downtown. This was the case in almost all western US downtowns. The theory now, proven in some cities like Denver, is that replacing those lots with buildings will create an environment people will want to spend time in and not just in an office. By the way, at least one empty office building downtown Albq is going to be converted to apartments, a definite casue for a 'yippee'
The theory now, proven in some cities like Denver, is that replacing those lots with buildings will create an environment people will want to spend time in and not just in an office.
I do want to spend time in Denver's downtown (Albuquerque's downtown isn't bad to me either) but the things there that appeal to me is the lack of vehicle traffic (can you imagine 16th street Denver open to vehicles but with its current paucity of parking?), excellent alternatives to car travel, and good community policing (Albuquerque could do more to discourage beggars).
I think there's a conflation of cause and effect here. It's not that downtown Denver is desirable because of no parking lots, but that there are no parking lots because downtown Denver's space is so desirable and city regulations and initiatives allowed the parking lots to be replaced.
Denver had the advantage during its founding to have the bulk of its downtown off the main thoroughfares through the area. That gave it the ability to close its "main drag" to vehicle traffic. That could never be done in Albuquerque for simple navigability reasons.
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