Would you pay to park

[pstylesss]

You go to a downtown 4 times a week to grab to go to your favourite cafe for tea, coffee, or a bagel. Right now you are able to have on-street parking for free and just a block away the city has a parking lot for you to park your car and walk around in the little downtown if no on-street parking is available or it's full. If the city did away with the parking lot and you then had to pay for parking down there to go to your favourite cafe, would you?

Assume there are plenty of other places you can go, but you just enjoy this place and everywhere else had free parking.


EDIT:

Let me clarify that you do not live in walking distance and this is a place where you stop on the way home from work to relax, go there on a weekend just to hang out, etc. You don't HAVE to go there it's just a cool little downtown. There is no big business to bring lots of people.

EDIT 2 (for more clarification)

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
You go to a downtown 4 times a week to grab to go to your favourite cafe for tea, coffee, or a bagel. Right now you are able to have on-street parking for free and just a block away the city has a parking lot for you to park your car and walk around in the little downtown if no on-street parking is available or it's full. If the city did away with the parking lot and you then had to pay for parking down there to go to your favourite cafe, would you?

Assume there are plenty of other places you can go, but you just enjoy this place and everywhere else had free parking.

Exactly what about this paragraph is supposed to be simple?

It's like you're trying to ask three separate questions. In other words, is your favorite cafe worth a couple bucks extra per visit? (and try not to live near Canada where they throw around extra us so haphazardly) Better be a damn good coffee & bagel place, that's for sure.

But I don't get the question. There's free street parking, and a parking lot, but then they took away the lot, I'm not seeing where the cost is. Did they also put up meters along the street? Where are you now forced to pay for parking?

I have a city planner friend who has a hardon for not allowing parking, thinks parking is basically the worst thing in the world. We have a little town called Puyallup that has a nice little downtown area (and I mean little). The City of Puyallup has a parking lot for people to drive there, park and then walk to all the little shops in the area. There is also limited on street parking but it's usually full.

He thinks they should remove the free parking lot, claims it's a waste of good real estate, make the on street parking pay-for parking. Basically, there would be no place in this little downtown area to park for free.

Would this stop you from going there? I live about 10 miles away and I drive down to a little coffee shop all the time, park, get out and walk less than a block to one of two coffee shops. A friend of mine does the same thing. Neither of us would go there anymore if they forced us to pay for parking. Especially since I can drive 15 miles to Tacoma, 5 miles to Federal Way or even right down the street in my town to a Starbucks. I go to these coffee shops in Puyallup because they are much better than others I've been to. I go about 3 times a week, friend goes about at least 4. He brings clients with him all the time and I typically bring 1 to 3 friends with me.

My planner friend thinks that we're an exception and basically doesn't care. I want to know what ATOT would do if the situation was essentially the same for you.

I told him by forcing pay-for parking these businesses would lose at least $150 worth of revenue a week from just 2 regular customers. That's a lot for a small business.

 

[Ns1]

1 dollar yes, 2 dollar maybe, 3 dollar no

 

[wetcat007]

Um if possible I would avoid paying for parking obviously, everywhere in downtown Minneapolis here is pay parking as best as I know, so I would probably have to pay.

 

[nageov3t]

I paid $300/month for parking for about a year and a half.

it was in inner-city Newark and it was the only secure lot in the area.

so yeah, I generally don't mind paying for parking if there's any great security/convenience advantage. I'd sooner pay $10 to park somewhere than drive around for half an hour wasting gas looking for street parking.

 

[pstylesss]

This place is not Seattle... it's a small downtown with low density.

 

[Eeezee]

Yeah, I'm fine paying the parking meter. If you really like the place so much, you're probably willing to pay the $1 to feed the meter for awhile.

 

[waggy]

you talking parking meters? they arent that bad. we pay $1 for 5 hours or so

 

[K1052]

After paying for parking in Chicago at $10-20 a pop (or $175-225 monthly) I wouldn't bat an eye at a few bucks elsewhere.

 

[cubby1223]

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
You go to a downtown 4 times a week to grab to go to your favourite cafe for tea, coffee, or a bagel. Right now you are able to have on-street parking for free and just a block away the city has a parking lot for you to park your car and walk around in the little downtown if no on-street parking is available or it's full. If the city did away with the parking lot and you then had to pay for parking down there to go to your favourite cafe, would you?

Assume there are plenty of other places you can go, but you just enjoy this place and everywhere else had free parking.

Exactly what about this paragraph is supposed to be simple?

It's like you're trying to ask three separate questions. In other words, is your favorite cafe worth a couple bucks extra per visit? (and try not to live near Canada where they throw around extra us so haphazardly) Better be a damn good coffee & bagel place, that's for sure.

But I don't get the question. There's free street parking, and a parking lot, but then they took away the lot, I'm not seeing where the cost is. Did they also put up meters along the street? Where are you now forced to pay for parking?

 

[pstylesss]

Originally posted by: cubby1223

Originally posted by: ZeroIQ
You go to a downtown 4 times a week to grab to go to your favourite cafe for tea, coffee, or a bagel. Right now you are able to have on-street parking for free and just a block away the city has a parking lot for you to park your car and walk around in the little downtown if no on-street parking is available or it's full. If the city did away with the parking lot and you then had to pay for parking down there to go to your favourite cafe, would you?

Assume there are plenty of other places you can go, but you just enjoy this place and everywhere else had free parking.

Exactly what about this paragraph is supposed to be simple?

It's like you're trying to ask three separate questions. In other words, is your favorite cafe worth a couple bucks extra per visit? (and try not to live near Canada where they throw around extra us so haphazardly) Better be a damn good coffee & bagel place, that's for sure.

But I don't get the question. There's free street parking, and a parking lot, but then they took away the lot, I'm not seeing where the cost is. Did they also put up meters along the street? Where are you now forced to pay for parking?

I have a city planner friend who has a hardon for not allowing parking, thinks parking is basically the worst thing in the world. We have a little town called Puyallup that has a nice little downtown area (and I mean little). The City of Puyallup has a parking lot for people to drive there, park and then walk to all the little shops in the area. There is also limited on street parking but it's usually full.

He thinks they should remove the free parking lot, claims it's a waste of good real estate, make the on street parking pay-for parking. Basically, there would be no place in this little downtown area to park for free.

Would this stop you from going there? I live about 10 miles away and I drive down to a little coffee shop all the time, park, get out and walk less than a block to one of two coffee shops. A friend of mine does the same thing. Neither of us would go there anymore if they forced us to pay for parking. Especially since I can drive 15 miles to Tacoma, 5 miles to Federal Way or even right down the street in my town to a Starbucks. I go to these coffee shops in Puyallup because they are much better than others I've been to. I go about 3 times a week, friend goes about at least 4. He brings clients with him all the time and I typically bring 1 to 3 friends with me.

My planner friend thinks that we're an exception and basically doesn't care. I want to know what ATOT would do if the situation was essentially the same for you.

I told him by forcing pay-for parking these businesses would lose at least $150 worth of revenue a week from just 2 regular customers. That's a lot for a small business.

 

[OdiN]

Originally posted by: loki8481
I paid $300/month for parking for about a year and a half.

it was in inner-city Newark and it was the only secure lot in the area.

so yeah, I generally don't mind paying for parking if there's any great security/convenience advantage. I'd sooner pay $10 to park somewhere than drive around for half an hour wasting gas looking for street parking.

$300/month for parking? Insane. I wouldn't pay that. Guess that's why I don't live in a ridiculously packed city.

 

[aesthetics]

It's "poll" not "pole"

 

[Capt Caveman]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: loki8481
I paid $300/month for parking for about a year and a half.

it was in inner-city Newark and it was the only secure lot in the area.

so yeah, I generally don't mind paying for parking if there's any great security/convenience advantage. I'd sooner pay $10 to park somewhere than drive around for half an hour wasting gas looking for street parking.

$300/month for parking? Insane. I wouldn't pay that. Guess that's why I don't live in a ridiculously packed city.

Then you probably don't want to hear about parking spots being sold in Back Bay Boston or Manhattan for $100,000+.

 

[habib89]

there's hardly any free parking at all in san francisco...

 

[ChaoZ]

Originally posted by: habib89
there's hardly any free parking at all in san francisco...

Only on weekends.

 

[nageov3t]

Originally posted by: OdiN

Originally posted by: loki8481
I paid $300/month for parking for about a year and a half.

it was in inner-city Newark and it was the only secure lot in the area.

so yeah, I generally don't mind paying for parking if there's any great security/convenience advantage. I'd sooner pay $10 to park somewhere than drive around for half an hour wasting gas looking for street parking.

$300/month for parking? Insane. I wouldn't pay that. Guess that's why I don't live in a ridiculously packed city.

it was cheaper than being unemployed

for awhile, I just parked on the street because I had a junker car (street parking could usually be found on seedy side-streets 4-5 blocks away), but I never really felt safe walking to my car when I got out of work at midnight... when that junker finally kicked the bucket and I got a new car, I really didn't have a choice but to suck it up and pay the money.

 

[shortylickens]

I already pay 20 bucks a month to park at home.
Would not pay a dime to park at or near work.

 

[Skeeedunt]

Needing to have change (like actual coins) is usually a deal breaker for me. Also, if this place goes from having ample parking to a situation where I'm driving around for ten minutes waiting for a spot, or parking ten minutes away, forget it.

 

[mugs]

There's a pizza place in the next town over that has bar none the best pizza around here. There are probably 10 pizza places that are closer to my mouse, but I go there for my pizza. Only problem is the parking. I can rarely get a spot on the street, so I have to park in the municipal lot and walk. It's a drag, but I live with it. Last friday they had a car show, so all of the on-street spots were taken AND the municipal lots were full. I was very annoyed. Eventually I bit the bullet, parked in a small lot for another business and got my pizza). If they took away the parking lot, I'd probably get my pizza somewhere else.