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Old 02-22-2019, 12:05 PM
 
4,413 posts, read 3,467,298 times
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If the beloved Souper Jenny can’t sustain enough foot traffic in Downtown Decatur without relying on free parking I’m not sure anyone can.
https://decaturish.com/2019/02/as-so...ng-complaints/
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Old 02-22-2019, 02:53 PM
 
32,019 posts, read 36,763,165 times
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Originally Posted by wasel View Post
If the beloved Souper Jenny can’t sustain enough foot traffic in Downtown Decatur without relying on free parking I’m not sure anyone can.
https://decaturish.com/2019/02/as-so...ng-complaints/
If you're just looking for soup and a sandwich you might cruise through the parking area once or twice but if there's nothing handy you're going to move on.
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Old 02-22-2019, 03:13 PM
 
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Originally Posted by arjay57 View Post
If you're just looking for soup and a sandwich you might cruise through the parking area once or twice but if there's nothing handy you're going to move on.
The article has a lot of comments from Decatur folks who say there are several issues with the parking situation.

One is that there is a minimum 1-hour charge at street meter, so people are forced to pay $3 to run in and pick up a takeout order from Souper Jenny or any of the restaurants in that area.

Apparently the courthouse took over a garage that people used to use for public parking.

And apparently the parking lots are not reciprocal and booting is enforced -- so if you park at one restaurant or store's paid lot, you can't walk over to another part of the downtown area to patronize another business or you will be booted at the original lot. (That was my understanding of how they described it.) There is no coordination. Many of the commenters said they don't go out to eat down there anymore.

A couple of people said it would help if you could put change in the meter for 6 minute increments like the old style.
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Old 02-22-2019, 03:43 PM
 
5,633 posts, read 5,355,378 times
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Originally Posted by wasel View Post
A couple of people said it would help if you could put change in the meter for 6 minute increments like the old style.
That's probably the crux of the issue. I don't think parking was free in downtown Decatur...you can go back in street view and see meters there all along. But, if they changed the minimum from being able to pop a quarter in while you ran in for five minutes to grab your sandwich to a minimum $3, that's going to change the amount one-off traffic you get by a pretty significant factor.
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Old 02-22-2019, 04:24 PM
 
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Yep. In town commercial areas without free parking like Downtown Decatur, midtown, and downtown are real ghost towns these days. Everyone knows malls, chain restaurants, and big box stores with ample free parking are where things are thriving! /s
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Old 02-22-2019, 05:55 PM
 
Location: Decatur, GA
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Well it seems that since Decatur is basically doing away with free parking, places keep leaving so yes, eventually it may just become a ghost town unless the city changes something.
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Old 02-22-2019, 06:28 PM
 
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Originally Posted by MattCW View Post
Well it seems that since Decatur is basically doing away with free parking, places keep leaving so yes, eventually it may just become a ghost town unless the city changes something.

That is quite the logical jump there. You do realize the most vibrant and economically prosperous areas on this planet charge for parking, right?
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Old 02-22-2019, 06:30 PM
 
Location: Decatur, GA
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Originally Posted by jsvh View Post
That is quite the logical jump there. You do realize the most vibrant and economically prosperous areas on this planet charge for parking, right?
Yea, and those areas have good alternatives to reach them from elsewhere We've been through this before!
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Old 02-22-2019, 06:33 PM
 
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Originally Posted by MattCW View Post
Yea, and those areas have good alternatives to reach them from elsewhere We've been through this before!

Maybe we can put a heavy rail transit station under Decatur Square.
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Old 02-22-2019, 06:58 PM
 
32,019 posts, read 36,763,165 times
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Originally Posted by jsvh View Post
Maybe we can put a heavy rail transit station under Decatur Square.
Well, even if you ride the train to Decatur, you've got to contend with schedules and a $5 fare, plus hiking it all the way from the underground platforms up to street level, and then walking all the way across the old courthouse square. That's a hassle for busy folks who just want to grab a quick sandwich or bowl of soup and move on.
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