Comments on: An illustrated guide to downtown Savannah parking

By: Evan

Evan — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 15:44:51 +0000

I’ve been working on a downtown plan in Pendleton, Oregon for more than a year. In spite of statistical evidence from professional consultants, our downtown merchants are convinced that we do not have enough parking downtown. So I decided to hop on my bike and ride through downtown with my helmet cam on during the lunch hour to see just how many spaces were occupied/free. It was very revealing. You can find the first one here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcHnUK26Ug0
Others are also posted.
Our downtown merchants complain that they want the Farmers market out of downtown because it hurts their business. What I found was that there are more cars (and people) downtown for the FM after 5:00 (when all the stores are closed) than there are during the lunch hour when the stores are open.

By: Steve Mouzon

Steve Mouzon — Fri, 05 Aug 2011 00:06:51 +0000

Thanks for the link to this post on my post, Bill! You make excellent points here. Cars IN AND OF THEMSELVES are not necessarily bad... it's how they're used. We need to get smarter on this issue, rather than treating it in knee-jerk fashion. ("The Importance of On-Street Parking")

By: Matthew

Matthew — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 02:16:05 +0000

As you alluded to, one of my favorites is the ‘taxi stand’ areas. Firstly, have you EVER seen a taxi in savannah waiting for a fare?! You can’t get one if you call and reserve one. And to take up two spots on JOHNSON Square? Are you kidding me? And the passenger loading zones. How does that help any business to have a spot out front that you are allowed to park in, sortof, maybe briefly. I have been working downtown a lot this month and have been really dumbfounded by the new rates, especially since I have been on the edges of the district- 400 block of east Oglethorpe and 100 block of Gaston. The amount of quarters I go through for four employees is insane. As you said, that rate might make sense in some portions of the district, but not all over.