Also worth noting that parking has historically been subsidized, with the initial construction cost and ongoing maintenance cost being buried into rent rates and DOT budgets, thus increasing cost of goods and taxes. As they say, there’s no such thing as a free lunch…
We’d be smart to tie parking price to the market. Paid parking increases turnover (more customers for local biz), incentives HOVs, and creates revenue for improvements, which would lure more businesses and help create that critical mass we lack.
When Raleigh has the destination that parking is worth paying for ok. Nowhere near that yet or ever. Raleigh will have nicer places but it is going in the direction of The Domain in Austin.
…what about the world’s first complete Tyrannosaurus Rex skeleton on display? I really do believe that’s going to increase tourism tenfold when that exhibit opens. I, for one, cannot wait to feast my eyes.
This is absolutely fine as an opinion, but even though you are part of the “normie” majority, I think your response demonstrates that you understand that you don’t actually speak directly for anybody other than yourself.
The opinions of the population at large are not monolithic. It amounts to a spectrum. Everybody has their own criteria and thresholds. Thresholds for what would get them to cycle or use transit instead of drive. Thresholds for what makes paying for parking worthwhile to them.
At one extreme there are some people who are absolutely at their core, for whatever reason, committed to never use transit at all, even if they were to travel to Japan, for example. On the other end, there are people who ride the bus in places like Starkville Mississippi in spite of having enough money to buy a car. Most people fall somewhere between.
Same for paid parking. Some view it as an essential violation of their human rights. Some don’t care at all. Again, most people fall somewhere between.
As downtown Raleigh gets better, and the number of destinations and amount of activity increases, and/or transit improves, the number of people who will use transit, or pay to park, or whatever - increases. Most of the people on this forum probably lean towards the category more willing to pay for parking or use transit or whatever.
But I strongly disagree with your “…or ever” - perhaps this is true for you, but hit a critical mass and things can, and will, shift quickly, for a large number of people.
Deference to cars is built into the system in the USA while the narrative persists that rail transit has to pay for itself in order to be viable.
We pay with our tax dollars for roads and heaps of on-street “free” parking for private vehicles. Costs for parking lots at private developments are built into the leases of tenants, resulting in those costs being passed onto consumers for goods and services. Seaboard will be no different. We will all pay for that parking whether we drive there or not.
I don’t care either way, let everything be free. I agree that public transportation should be free as a service to tax paying citizens. But those private cars are paying for the “free parking” with the vehicle taxes, gas taxes, purchase taxes and so on so don’t try and pull a fagazzie on us Johnny boy. As always, much love.
Shows the negative impact of the state parking lots / one story strip detritus on the right, but also a glimpse at what could be if they redevelop that land.
I hope they have a lot of other good retail businesses lined up to move in once all of this is completed. I’m assuming it won’t be too hard for them to find tenants given this development’s location relative to SH, Peace, and Downtown.
