Cars and parking | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: Lynn Nadeau (welcomeolympus.net) | |
Date: Thu, 14 May 1998 10:55:07 -0500 |
>From Lynn at RoseWind Cohousing, Port Townsend Washington: I'd be the first to agree that The Car has had a lot to do with disintegration of community in the world: as people no longer work at home or on their farm, children get on a schoolbus and never see their classmates in their neighborhood, transport happens in a closed metal box, instead of walkers passing. But one needn't assume that the only way cohousers can feel close is to park away from the house. Maybe, like us, you'll find that your local Fire Department and Public Works department are adamant that you have to design streets to all your homes. We were afraid that people parking by their own home would have terrible effects. And it hasn't. All the factors that make cohousing full of intention and opportunity to interact are plenty to absorb the impact of personal parking. We don't drive to our cohousing neighbors' homes: we walk, because there are paths, and because it's close, and because we enjoy crossing paths with others who are "out". We walk to the gardens. When our common house is done, we'll walk there (as we already walk down to the bank of mailboxes that are temporarily in the common house parking lot). On the other hand, we drive up to our own home, which is very useful with a lot of stuff to load or unload, in messy weather, with a sleeping child, etc. Even as I unload or vacuum at my car, friends pass by and talk with me. A number of our members are older, and the fact that my parking is by my accessible entry and home, means fellow members can still visit me, even with new hip replacements and other lameness. As we are still designing our common house, we also have big meetings and potlucks in our larger homes, and a car can pull up with easels, chairs, big things of food, and so on. Pick-ups and deliveries are easy--- propane and other heating fuel, loads of topsoil-gravel-bark, UPS, trash and recycling. Repair vehicles (with cherry-picker recently to repair solar roof panels next door). Noting whose car is home, or whose car is visiting someone, turns out to be a helpful indicator that a friend is home and could be phoned or visited. I wouldn't recommend TRYING to have at-home parking, but know that it can work just fine. And when you design "pod" or "lot" parking, keep in mind the above observations, and think about how it will work when there are deliveries, people who can't walk much, etc. I imagine it would be good to have a shed at the parking lot with sturdy garden carts, maybe a hose and electric outlet, and easy level access from the lot to homes.
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