Signage. Maybe put a 
on our decks that have free parking.
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So we’re now giving away parking but charging for RLine downtown? Nice job Raleigh. 
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Fixed it for you
Characters
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The cars are evil posts have now emerged. Unfortunately you are about 150 years too late. Downtown Raleigh will never have enough population to support the over concentration of craft beer bars, overpriced brunch places, and hair salons. Soooo you need to accommodate the norms, aka, those that own modern forms of transportation.
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I used to think parallel parking was the skill DTR living taught me, but it’s actually hunting down free streetside spots with ease.
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Car’s aren’t evil. I have cars. But this country nationally and locally has promoted and subsidized car use since WWII. Free roads, free parking, kick-backs to the oil and gas industry, etc. the list goes on. Not to mention the externalized costs of pollution and CO2 that get ignored.
Now, people expect free parking everywhere, and call it a tax when people have to pay to park.
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Oh please…
Nobody is coming after your car or anyone else’s. It’s not like you have to pay to drive on the streets, or even park on the streets of downtown after 6PM. In fact, paying for roads only exists in Raleigh’s far suburbs!
What the city’s recent actions do is signal who is important and who is not. Let me give you an example. As a DT resident, I can no longer get from point to point downtown on the RLine for free, but I can jump in my car and drive a mile or less and park for free as part of a pilot. Does that sound like the city wants to enable people to make choices other than driving? They are literally piloting a program of free parking on the back of putting a fare on a downtown specific circulator transit route. And for all of this convenience to folks outside of downtown in cars, I continue to pay hundreds of MSD tax dollars each year for things that convenience, support, or clean up after downtown visitors. While those MSD dollars may or may not enable a free parking pilot, it’s hard for me to not draw that conclusion.
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Not certain how long the free 2 hour parking thing will last, but I love the idea - even if it only creates public awareness of which decks are the city-owned decks and are thereby cheaper and free after 5 pm/on weekends. There’s plenty of inexpensive parking downtown - you just have to go down there regularly enough to know where it is.
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Signage is both lacking and unclear on most decks.
I’d love for there to be an ordinance that private decks have to have LARGE signage upfront saying very clear that they’re Privately-owned, plus a full list of their rates clearly stated.
Then the city decks (county & state ones too), could put a Public Parking sign with their rates. Along with clear list of when they’re free.
Not only will it help people figure it all out, but I think it’ll push the private decks to reduce their rates more due to more motivation for competition. Free market should benefit the consumer, after all.
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It’s even muddled now that the city owned parking deck operation has been outsourced.
The free 2-hour parking program is intended to highlight how foot traffic drives the success of local businesses downtown. When businesses thrive, people who frequent them begin to see the value of living closer to urban centers. The goal is to encourage individuals with long drive time to consider relocating downtown—provided there is suitable housing and jobs available.
Over time, more residents will move downtown, allowing the city to reduce free parking as local businesses thrive organically through increased density. While we could continue offering free parking to make it convenient for drivers (I recently overheard someone frustrated that a new neighborhood coffee shop didn’t have a drive-thru), traffic and commute times will always persist. As the saying goes, “Time is the only currency you spend without knowing your balance—use it wisely.”
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My “extreme” opinion:
If the City is allowing people to park in their decks for free for 2-hours (for longer than 1 month), they should get rid of more street parking for bike lane extensions and eateries/parklets 
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I had some time today so watching this discussion in the background.
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If this pilot becomes permanent given that it “only” costs $100k a year, Fayetteville and Wilmington St. should have little-to-no street parking available. Why? The parking decks available have ample spaces for car parking.
For the past century, cars and other vehicles have been prioritized over the safety of people outside of these vehicles, especially the elderly and children. The city needs to live up to its own CCAP standards and improve the safety of pedestrians and bikers by expanding the protected bike lane network and widening sidewalks.
I understand that parking does serve as a barrier for bike lanes from car traffic but I’d prefer eateries/parklets and good ole concrete curbs to be used as protection (given the lack of space).
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2 hours free parking downtown allows people from the suburbs or other areas to come in on a weekday and eat lunch maybe shop but probably dine with a friend or family member downtown. I think it is a great idea. If it may only cost “$100K” a year that is cheap marketing for sure. Some of the on street parking could be used for other uses but I do think handicapped parking should be prioritized on the street if possible.
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Yeah I definitely agree, it would be great to have designated handicap street parking and drop-off/pick-up areas for Uber and Lyft. It would also be nice if residential buildings used nearby street parking for Zipcar or a car sharing service.
I have an idea. How about we fix our “retail problem” with more housing downtown instead of trying to entice suburbanites and their cars to make downtown businesses viable? Haven’t we already tried the car thing enough?
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Let’s do something that will pay off in 5-10 years at best instead of trying to help local businesses right now!
(To be clear I think we should do both)
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People in single family neighborhoods on downtown’s edges have been doing their best to suppress more density of housing downtown for years. When we put this band aid on the retail issue, they will just continue to suppress more housing because the problem has been solved by the car. We cannot keep riding this merry go round and expect it to go anywhere else but in circles.
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