Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: No Parking

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

On Nov 28, 2007, at 3:02 AM, Katie Henry wrote:

> Sharon, would Takoma Village exist without parking?

It would be very hard. I lived in Manhattan for 15 years without a  
car. When I left NY I moved temporarily to Florida where a car is  
essential. So when I  moved to DC I had a car which I fairly promptly  
got rid of. I love being carless most of the time but I also have  
special conditions --

-- I don't have young children who have to be schlepped around.

-- I shop for only one person so rarely need to carry more than one or  
two bags of groceries -- fine for a hand wheeled cart. Or an old  
fashioned pram which I've used for several years.

-- I don't work outside the home and thus do not have to go out if it  
is raining or icy. While many of our residents work downtown and use  
the Metro, others do not and need to have a car to get to work.

-- My extra-curricular activities do not include things like hiking  
and kayaking which require trips to the country. 

-- I live 2 blocks from the Metro and understand that the cost of the  
car far outweighs the cost I pay for shopping in town instead of in  
big box stores in the suburbs.

-- There are 6 Zipcars within 2 blocks that I can rent for an  hour or  
12 hours (12 hrs, $71) which I do once or twice a month to run any  
errands that I desire. I cluster them and do a binge, including meals  
at any restaurants I can't reach on foot. I also exchange childcare  
for car borrowing.

-- I use not having a car as incentive to avoid hours and hours of  
wandering around the countryside shopping. I use the internet.

--- I prefer not to go out at night for entertainment.

People who cannot meet those conditions need parking. Particularly  
people who return home from work in the middle of the night or are  
mildly handicapped. Two who cannot walk long distances have  motorized  
wheelchairs and one uses the Metro exclusively.

At one point it was suggested that we drop the parking in favor of  
more green space. It was a deal breaker for many people. For most,  
however, one space per unit has been enough. Some people have no cars  
so those with two cars rent their spaces. We have permit parking on  
the street so some people park there because it is closer to their  
unit -- but they still want their parking spaces because it isn't  
always convenient.

Almost everyone has gotten rid of second cars since they moved in.  
Four units of 43 have no cars.

I think the reality is that unless you are in an urban area like NY  
where most people do not have cars, you need access to at least some  
parking.

Sharon
----
Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing,Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org