Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Reducing parking spaces

[Lautner, Patricia (Patricia.Lautner]

It's been 8 years but we struggled with this question when developing our 
community at JPCohousing in Boston.  We're located on a bike path that goes all 
the way downtown, and we're a short <3min walk to two subway stations.  Even 
though we had highly motivated non-car owners in our group, it came down to 
what the city would allow.  We ended up being forced to build parking spaces 
that we never use!

Another thing to consider is the resale value, a unit without a parking space 
has a lower value.  Aging in place is another consideration, as we age we may 
have mobility problems.   The carrot that Ann references could simply be that a 
unit without parking is cheaper.  Finally, a car sharing program on site will 
really help your members who can't imagine not having their own car.  We have 
two successful car sharing programs at JPCohousing, I'd be happy to talk with 
you more about these if you contact me.

Cheers everyone :)

Patti

-----Original Message-----
From: Ann Zabaldo [mailto:zabaldo [at] earthlink.net] 
Sent: Thursday, June 20, 2013 7:36 AM
To: Cohousing-L
Subject: Re: [C-L]_ Reducing parking spaces


Hi Doug!

If you were anywhere except Bloomington I would say:  check w/ your planning 
department before you even consider this course of action.  

But ... Bloomington is a leader is innovative city planning including funding 
an apartment building strictly for people who bicycle.  (People can own a car 
but it has to be parked far, far away as in:  not convenient to use.)

So ... given it's Bloomington ... would suggest using a carrot instead of a 
stick.  (People always respond to veggies better than inorganic materials.)  

How about households w/ no parking place get an early slot in choosing a home 
site?  Something like that.

BTW,  is Janet Greenblatt connected w/ your forming group?  If so ... tell her 
I said "hi!"

Best --

Ann Zabaldo
Takoma Village Cohousing
Washington, DC
Principal, Cohousing Collaborative, LLC
Falls Church VA
703-688-2646

On Jun 19, 2013, at 2:13 PM, Doug Hanvey wrote:

> 
> Our forming community would like to minimize the number of parking 
> spaces per unit.  We've been thinking of ways to discourage on-site 
> parking (we live in a bike-friendly town near a bus stop). One idea 
> was to charge residents for the use of parking spaces. Does anyone 
> have any experience with this, or suggestions for other unique ways of 
> reducing/discouraging car use, and thus minimizing the need for parking 
> spaces?
> 
> 
> 
> Doug Hanvey
> 
> Bloomington Cohousing
> 
> Bloomington, Indiana
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> Cohousing-L mailing list -- Unsubscribe, archives and other info at: 
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