Can Downtown Survive?

[vicupstate]

Doesn't the city guarantee the profits of some of the garages?  How would that play into the scenario above (which I like).

The city guarantees an 8% profit for the new courthouse garage as well as the two garages at the Arena/Baseball Field.  Only the courthouse garage would be impacted by removing meters. 

[Vtlsgns]

I am currently looking for a place to live in Jax. I would love to live downtown. I lived DT in Seattle and a few other places. However I can't justify it in Jax. I looked at the Metro Lofts and 11E. The thing that hit me right away was the significant lack of parking. I lived in NYC and am used to having a difficult time street parking. But Jax is tough. IMO this is a must fix to bring DT up to other cities.
I would not mind parking some distance from my place (compromise of DT living) but there is no convenient transport system.
I really hope that the meter/garage issue is part of future transportation plans the city has.
It has to be!

[comncense]

^ When I lived downtown at the Carling, finding a place to park was the last thing I worried about. I just left my car parked in the building's garage and walked to most places I wanted to visit downtown. With 11E you can do the same thing. I know Metro Lofts had some thing where you had to pay for a space or park in some lot a block away. At least that was the deal a few years when I checked on living there.

[GoldenEst82]

Moving here from NYC in September and I will most likely be working downtown.  Getting educated on the downtown problems.  The parking situation as well summarized by many posters clearly seems ridiculous and destructive.  And does anyone think the current crop of mayoral candidates will end this nonsense?

Those who actually live downtown, have building parking. Even if you moved to an outlying area (S-field, R-side), most professionals have parking handled by the employer. I mean that in as far as having dedicated parking, but it may or may not be paid for by the employer. (perhaps you have time to address that issue with your employer before you get here, I would.)

As to the causes of the parking problem, you could probably search the forum and dig up some good answers.

IMHO a mayoral change COULD be a vehicle for downtown recovery; but only if the person elected is of the progressive variety, and is not determined to shell out our tax money to his developer friends and/or whoever has the brownest nose. I
t is also my humble opinion that Government should not be run like a business, (which is how Peyton thought it should be run) because government deals with people, not profit margins.  Hopefully change WILL be good.

[futurejax]

Moving here from NYC in September and I will most likely be working downtown.  Getting educated on the downtown problems.  The parking situation as well summarized by many posters clearly seems ridiculous and destructive.  And does anyone think the current crop of mayoral candidates will end this nonsense?

Those who actually live downtown, have building parking. Even if you moved to an outlying area (S-field, R-side), most professionals have parking handled by the employer. I mean that in as far as having dedicated parking, but it may or may not be paid for by the employer. (perhaps you have time to address that issue with your employer before you get here, I would.)

As to the causes of the parking problem, you could probably search the forum and dig up some good answers.

IMHO a mayoral change COULD be a vehicle for downtown recovery; but only if the person elected is of the progressive variety, and is not determined to shell out our tax money to his developer friends and/or whoever has the brownest nose. I
t is also my humble opinion that Government should not be run like a business, (which is how Peyton thought it should be run) because government deals with people, not profit margins.  Hopefully change WILL be good.

thanks

[ChriswUfGator]

^ When I lived downtown at the Carling, finding a place to park was the last thing I worried about. I just left my car parked in the building's garage and walked to most places I wanted to visit downtown. With 11E you can do the same thing. I know Metro Lofts had some thing where you had to pay for a space or park in some lot a block away. At least that was the deal a few years when I checked on living there.

Worrying about finding a parking space isn't a problem, that's never been anyone's concern to begin with. There are around 35,000 parking spaces downtown and less than 10,000 people, so you're not exactly facing any shortage. The problem isn't finding parking, it's the absurd prices you have to pay for it.

And when I looked at 11E not every unit came with its own spot, and even the ones that did came with 1 spot. The units at the Carling come with 1 spot except the penthouses. Unless you happen to be a single person, that's going to kill living downtown for you, since most couples and families have more than just 1 vehicle and the monthly rates at the garages are nuts.

[tufsu1]

The problem isn't finding parking, it's the absurd prices you have to pay for it.

ah yes....the outrage of $0.25 meters, $10 max. for daily parking, and less than $100 for a monthly pass.

[ChriswUfGator]

The problem isn't finding parking, it's the absurd prices you have to pay for it.

ah yes....the outrage of $0.25 meters, $10 max. for daily parking, and less than $100 for a monthly pass.

It's not the $0.50 I have to put in the meter tufsu, it's the expensive ticket I'll get if I'm 12 seconds overtime, plus the fact that I'm virtually guaranteed to get ticketed under the paltry time limits they allow on the meters.

That and the parking cops routinely disregard the ordinance that states you can come back and buy extra time without moving the vehicle, so even if I go to the trouble of schlepping all the way back to the car to put in a quarter I'm probably going to get a ticket anyway.

Which I can't challenge without going downtown to file the notice of appeal in person, only to have to go back later for a daylong ordeal of watching the hearing officer finding every single one of the 300 people in the room guilty regardless of whether they really were or not. That's the reality created the current parking policies downtown.

And why should I have to pay $10 to park in a garage just to go get a $6 sandwich? If that's acceptable to you, then fine, but the other 99% of people will continue to flee that annoyance and continue to go to Riverside or San Marco, or any of the other places that aren't chasing their customers away with draconian parking policies. And of course that's how downtown got where it is today in the first place.

We tried it your way for the last 50 years Tufsu, it didn't work. That goose is cooked, stick a fork in it already.

[Timkin]

Lose all the Parking Meters , some of the Garages , and cut the fees in half . We have no lack of parking downtown.. Look at it on an aerial , and that would be obvious.

[ChriswUfGator]

Lose all the Parking Meters , some of the Garages , and cut the fees in half . We have no lack of parking downtown.. Look at it on an aerial , and that would be obvious.

To everyone, that is, except TUFSU.  Who bikes.

Nah, that's not entirely true Stephen...we've seen him take his car plenty of times. That is, when he's coming over to Springfield or Riverside where there aren't any parking meters! LMAO, what a straaaaange coincidence!

[tufsu1]

actually I have even used my car to go places downtown (especially when it is raining)...but that's usually at night (also when you've seen me in Sprinfield and Riverside) when the meters aren't running.

btw...I fully endorse modernzing our meters...and I'm even willing to remove the meters on certain streets/blocks...but there still needs to be enforceable time limits....which wouldn't solve the problem of getting ticketed.

[vicupstate]

You can have enforceable time limits WITHOUT meters, be they old or modern. 

[Timkin]

Exactly.  Get rid of the damn meters..they are a nuisance.  Get rid of surface parking on every friggin City block and replace some of these places with real destinations like some of them that were ripped down to create these surface parking spots.  If we could reverse (literally) some of the things we did, we perhaps could bring back some of what we lost , by making these moves.

[Victor711]

This is probably the best time to begin my mission Tim... Downtown seems to be falling down slowly. And like what cityimrov said, having sky dining in some of the towers would be great to get a good view.. Hopefully soon, downtown can improve, and my Project L.H.F can take hold to make it better. 

[tufsu1]

well there is the Skyline Restuarant in the BOA tower...they are open for lunch M-F nd happy hour Thhur & Fri...I encourage evryone to patronize it.