Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Reducing parking spaces

[Holly Wilder (hollywilder23]

Hi All,

I haven't read this thread, but have gotten the general gist and just want to 
mention what is happening here at Nyland.  We have been debating for years 
whether or not we should build MORE parking spaces.  Nyland was built to 
accommodate 2 spaces per house plus a few extras.  Some of those spaces are 
reserved carport spots, and a few units have garages, but most are unreserved 
spots in the lot.  As children have grown into teens who drive, and more owners 
are renting out parts of their homes to make mortgage payments, there are a lot 
of cars here. And that isn't going to change.  We're on a bus line and all have 
bus passes, and lots of folks use that and ride bikes.  Nevertheless, many (if 
not most) households now have more than 2 cars.  We are lucky to have overflow 
parking on the street, but residents coming home later are bummed out when they 
can't find a spot on the lot.  

We've tried various things over the years - people paying extra dues for more 
vehicles, that sort of thing - to create some sense of justice.  We're well on 
our way to creating a new lot (lucky we have room for it!), but it is an 
expensive and controversial project.  There has been a lot of bad blood around 
this over the years.  

My take on this is that this is America and cars are a reality here, and 
whatever you start out with when you build your community, more cars may come 
later.  

- Holly in Colorado

Holly Wilder
Visionary Properties LLC
www.visionaryproperties.vpweb.com
hollywilder23 [at] gmail.com
(303) 517-4180 cell
(303) 447-8204 fax



On Jun 20, 2013, at 12:53 PM, Sharon Villines 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).
>> 
>> Doug Hanvey
>> Bloomington Cohousing
>> Bloomington, Indiana
> 
> 
> Think twice and three times. Reducing driving is a good thing but reducing 
> cars is not always optimum. Many households will need cars for the following 
> reasons:
> 
> Transporting children to soccer, school, piano lessons, doctors, etc.
> Working odd hours and returning home at 3 am
> Cannot physically ride bikes or walk long distances
> Weather not suitable for bikes or walking  when you have to wear suits to work
> Weekend trips to hike, climb, visit family and friends, etc.
> 
> And other odd reasons, like in DC, you can't be a foster parent unless you 
> have a car. Shared cars will work for some but many professional jobs and 
> childcare needs aren't optional travel that can be adjusted to whenever a car 
> is available. So not having a parking space may be a deal breaker for many.
> 
> We have one space per unit and that works pretty well. People who had two 
> cars when they moved in have reduced to one because we borrow each other's 
> cars and have ~8-10 ZipCars nearby. Several people do not have cars and loan 
> their spaces to guests or workers. Or rent them.
> 
> Prices for units without parking will have to be lower than with parking -- 
> ask a local real estate broker what a parking space costs in Bloomington. 
> What does it add to value? How limiting will it be on resales?
> 
> AND remember that parking spaces can be used for many things besides parking 
> -- cluster them for basketball, hopscotch, learning to ride a bicycle, 
> skateboarding, bike parking, etc. It's space that can be very useful. 
> 
> Using permeable pavers or pervious surfaces would allow you to avoid storm 
> drains and still use the space for something else. Though some permeable 
> pavers are not approved for accessibility.
> 
> Sharon
> ----
> Sharon Villines
> Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
> http://www.takomavillage.org
> 
> 
> 
> 
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