15 Reasons Why Downtowns Don't Need More Parking

by Donovan Rypkema

In nearly two decades as a Main Street consultant, Don Rypkema has traveled to thousands of communities and seen just about every challenge a city has had to face. Over the years, Don has jotted down his observations and insights in a series of lists. From "most expensive rehabilitation mistakes" to the "characteristics of successful business districts," Don's lists range far and wide, focusing on the obvious and the obscure, the major issues and minor stumbling blocks of community revitalization with equal skill.

Tips for success, pitfalls to avoid, and common sense observations about the world of main street revitalization all are encompassed in Donovan's Lists. And what better issue to start with than the one that pops out of almost everyone's mouth when they're asked to name the biggest problem in their downtown PARKING! Here are Don Rypkema's observations on downtown parking.

15 Reasons Why Downtowns Don't Need More Parking

1. Except in the economically strongest downtowns, rarely is the quantity of available spaces the issue. There are plenty of spaces. The issue is nearly always management of the parking that already exists.


2. Never in the history of the universe did an automobile ever buy anything. People buy goods and services; cars don't. A surface parking lot precludes the sale of goods and services in that location.


3. Almost no use provides less property tax revenue than a surface parking lot.


4. Healthy downtowns require people on the street and people on the street require circular pedestrian movement. Circular pedestrian movement is halted by pedestrian barriers, of which surface parking lots are the prime example.


5. Nobody ever goes anywhere just so they can park their car. People go downtown to buy goods and services, to be entertained, to meet other people. If the goods, services, entertainment, and events are there, people will find a place to park. Visit a successful downtown and try to find a surface parking lot. They either will not exist or they'll be found behind buildings or on the fringes of the district.


6. If a downtown is going to improve, additions and subtractions to the district must be of greater quality than the current average. When quality historic buildings are removed, especially to make room for a parking lot, the average quality of the downtown worsens.


7. Imagining that parking is the major issue downtown indicates a misplaced understanding of the ingredients of economic success in a traditional commercial district.


8. Addition of a surface parking lot downtown should be based on a comprehensive analysis of the needs and options of the entire district, not the decisions of a single property owner.


9. Parking lots require 275 to 325 square feet for every parking space once circulation and distance between cars have been accommodated. The worker who drove the car will need, on average, 180 to 250 square feet in an office building. Is it really the appropriate priority to assign more space to the car than to the worker?


10. When a historic building is standing, there are four options: do nothing; stabilize the building and wait; rehabilitate the building; or tear it down. Tearing a building down for surface parking is always an option, but once that option is exercised, all other options are eliminated. More than any other variable, the key component in rehabbing downtown buildings is flexibility. Eliminating three of the four alternatives eliminates all flexibility.


11. The most glaring examples of failed downtown revitalization efforts are those that: (a) relied on the 'big fix' to solve their problems; and (b) razed historic buildings to make room for surface parking.


12. More parking is the 'solution' for those who don't understand how successful downtowns work, have never bothered to look at the ingredients of successful examples, refuse to address downtown issues on a comprehensive basis, or lack the imagination to craft creative economic development strategies.


13. The exchange of historic buildings for surface parking lots reduces rather than enhances the opportunities for economic success.


14. In a downtown that offers appropriate goods and services, a worker will add $2,000 to $2,500 a year to the downtown economy. A downtown resident will add $8,000 to $10,000. A surface parking lot will add nothing.


15. In the end, the purpose of downtown revitalization is to add value to the city through tax revenues, value to the buildings, value to the businesses, value to the customer, value to the community. New businesses, better businesses, more residents, new and better activities, better appearance, better management, entertainment all add value. Replacing historic buildings with parking lots reduces value.

Donovan Rypkema is a very well-respected economist and preservationist. Read his bio here.

© 2004 National Trust for Historic Preservation. All Rights Reserved.

Posted by Admin at February 3, 2005 02:48 PM