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Boston parking is an insiders game. You need a block or even sub-block familiarity with an area to even have fighting chance at navigating it in a reasonable amount of time. There might be four public parking spots on X side street off of Washington, nestled in among 2 hour parking(M-F 8-6), resident parking, no parking signs and meters all on the same block. Oh and don't forget street sweeping on Wednesday 12-8 or you're getting towed.
If those four are taken, there might be another three spots a few streets over, and five more a quarter mile away. In between them traffic jams , nearly impossible left-hand turns and one-ways so make sure you have considered your route between planA, planB and planC in advance.
Boston parking is an insiders game. You need a block or even sub-block familiarity with an area to even have fighting chance at navigating it in a reasonable amount of time. There might be four public parking spots on X side street off of Washington, nestled in among 2 hour parking(M-F 8-6), resident parking, no parking signs and meters all on the same block. Oh and don't forget street sweeping on Wednesday 12-8 or you're getting towed.
If those four are taken, there might be another three spots a few streets over, and five more a quarter mile away. In between them traffic jams , nearly impossible left-hand turns and one-ways so make sure you have considered your route between planA, planB and planC in advance.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Especially not since Boston has added a slightly ridiculous amount of bike lanes and widen and lengthened curb jutouts all over.
Not that more parking options, make a superior downtown in itself. Still, downtown Chicago has a asset in 2126 parking spots underground and a asset in winter and means less aboveground garages are needed. Does not include private underground parking to skyscrapers with added public parking. Like 10,000 in the city parking system.
Some say it hurts walkability. Not really for this city's core. Parking in podium high-rises to skyscrapers, is also a asset downtown residents can boast for just weekend use and for their high-end glory vehicles having their own condo in-house. Some demean podium parking as lessens urban-scope. For many it is a asset not factored in for a city vs city downtown discussion.
Its underground Pedway underground walk-way system, a asset also to and from buildings and garages, transit trains and between each other. Many do not know of it. A asset in poor weather for those who can utilize it.
Add its double and some tripled layers of streets thru downtown allowing freight deliveries and trash pick-up off surface streets in many instances. Just no buried expressway.
All make for a very diverse number of options to a downtown that can take some foot traffic and vehicular, off the surface, especially for many deliveries to clog streets. Underground parking prevents overbuilding surface garages that truly blemish some downtowns.
Not that more parking options, make a superior downtown in itself. Still, downtown Chicago has a asset in 2126 parking spots underground and a asset in winter and means less aboveground garages are needed. Does not include private underground parking to skyscrapers with added public parking. Like 10,000 in the city parking system.
Some say it hurts walkability. Not really for this city's core. Parking in podium high-rises to skyscrapers, is also a asset downtown residents can boast for just weekend use and for their high-end glory vehicles having their own condo in-house. Some demean podium parking as lessens urban-scope. For many it is a asset not factored in for a city vs city downtown discussion.
Its underground Pedway underground walk-way system, a asset also to and from buildings and garages, transit trains and between each other. Many do not know of it. A asset in poor weather for those who can utilize it.
Add its double and some tripled layers of streets thru downtown allowing freight deliveries and trash pick-up off surface streets in many instances. Just no buried expressway.
All make for a very diverse number of options to a downtown that can take some foot traffic and vehicular, off the surface, especially for many deliveries to clog streets. Underground parking prevents overbuilding surface garages that truly blemish some downtowns.
We can all agree here.
Parking (and driving) in Chicago is downright convenient relative to Boston.
As a suburbanite now, I am far more apt to go to Chicago for a quick dinner or lunch than I would be equidistant to Boston. Most any time I went downtown Boston once I moved to the suburbs, it was a weekend or night where I planned on spending a long time downtown. In Chicago, a weekday dinner downtown or in its northern neighborhoods is far more likely.
They can put it back out in 2 months. But they will likely have to get rid of either building a new BPS library branch or operating the Strand Theatre. The Strand is troubled and no one can operate it (safely) consistently and break even let alone turn a profit. I could see someone building housing on top of a library. That’s what they wanted to do further south in the Fields Corner section of Dorchester.
Some people who live in the suburbs really feel this way. Not the urbanophiles we have on CD. These people are coming from communities that are next to crime free. The fact that any level of crime occurs frequently and there are minorities? It means something to them.
Perhaps they can allow for greater density as a trade-off? Or more market rate housing? Building housing on top of the library (which would be greater density) would seem like a decent sell. Libraries are good amenities and they don't generally get very loud and rowdy or go on late into the wee hours. I would also think that having much greater immediate housing density would also help provide the potential for a local customer base for the Strand Theatre, but not if all the housing provided was at the more extreme ends of low income. What was the affordable housing component / stipulations for it?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Space_League
Boston parking is an insiders game. You need a block or even sub-block familiarity with an area to even have fighting chance at navigating it in a reasonable amount of time. There might be four public parking spots on X side street off of Washington, nestled in among 2 hour parking(M-F 8-6), resident parking, no parking signs and meters all on the same block. Oh and don't forget street sweeping on Wednesday 12-8 or you're getting towed.
If those four are taken, there might be another three spots a few streets over, and five more a quarter mile away. In between them traffic jams , nearly impossible left-hand turns and one-ways so make sure you have considered your route between planA, planB and planC in advance.
Quote:
Originally Posted by BostonBornMassMade
Couldn’t have said it better myself. Especially not since Boston has added a slightly ridiculous amount of bike lanes and widen and lengthened curb jutouts all over.
This would be a lot less of an issue if Boston had far better transit. North-South Rail Link and running MBTA Commuter Rail as a S-Train / RER would do wonders for Boston.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chi-town
Not that more parking options, make a superior downtown in itself. Still, downtown Chicago has a asset in 2126 parking spots underground and a asset in winter and means less aboveground garages are needed. Does not include private underground parking to skyscrapers with added public parking. Like 10,000 in the city parking system.
Some say it hurts walkability. Not really for this city's core. Parking in podium high-rises to skyscrapers, is also a asset downtown residents can boast for just weekend use and for their high-end glory vehicles having their own condo in-house. Some demean podium parking as lessens urban-scope. For many it is a asset not factored in for a city vs city downtown discussion.
Its underground Pedway underground walk-way system, a asset also to and from buildings and garages, transit trains and between each other. Many do not know of it. A asset in poor weather for those who can utilize it.
Add its double and some tripled layers of streets thru downtown allowing freight deliveries and trash pick-up off surface streets in many instances. Just no buried expressway.
All make for a very diverse number of options to a downtown that can take some foot traffic and vehicular, off the surface, especially for many deliveries to clog streets. Underground parking prevents overbuilding surface garages that truly blemish some downtowns.
I do like the idea of capping things like parking spaces. I also think the multilevel streets in the Loop are a fantastic feat. I wish the Pedway was a bit nicer and expanded and operated a bit more like RESO in Montreal where there's a lot going on and where it's wider, more pleasant, and better marked.
I think Chicago can also greatly benefit from something like a S-Train / RER system with converting Metra to something of the sort as advocated for by the High Speed Rail Alliance under Crossrail Chicago. Expanding further on that, I wonder just how difficult it'd be for trains to extend beyond Millennium station and underneath the river in order to head north and west and tie into other Metra services. It'd be interesting if Metra could form a big "outer Loop" with such though that would be one hell of a construction project. I'd imagine it'd be something along the lines of Union Station bound tracks near Kinzie Street going from above grade to underground between Ashland Ave and Ogden Ave and underground all the way to Union Station with the Metra Electric having looped north and then west and back down all underground to join those tracks.
w/ construction smashing past >200M sq ft of labs, offices & residential for Boston/ Cambridge/ Somerville/ & Everett in a short number of years---and with Mayor Wu declaring no minimums of parking for most residential construction projects, parking is gonna be a premium/ implausible /next to impossible/ totally impossible for years to come.
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