“Housing is Expensive for People but Free for Most Cars”

(Just revisited this article I wrote for Next City way back in 2010. Still holds up!)

Free Parking is Not a Right

We’ve all done it, looped endlessly around restaurants, bars, theaters, our homes, looking for the parking spot that doesn’t require walking too far, and certainly doesn’t involve paying; either in meter, lot, or garage form. For if something is free, isn’t it better to spend a few minutes driving slowly and erratically looking for a space to squeeze into? If parking in a garage could mean paying $6 an hour, isn’t it worth the time to circle around “just one more time”?

Yes, it is. And that’s the problem.

Continuously Cruising for the Perfect Spot

By providing free parking anywhere, the incentive to pay is eliminated and people will continue to drive endlessly looking for that hidden gem of a spot, and once that perfect spot is found, there is little reason to leave.

In an attempt to combat this problem, last month San Francisco became the first city to complete a “parking census” to determine how much land is allotted for parking. Surprisingly, few cities have any idea how much parking exists, and over the past 18 months, the city of San Francisco painstakingly counted every publicly available space, on-street and off, metered and free, and discovered that there are 441,541 parking spaces, 280,000 of which are on-street.

The census revealed that on-street parking comprises 940 acres of valuable land, nearly as much as Golden Gate Park (1,017 acres), one of the city’s most revered spaces. And of that, less than 10 percent is metered, meaning that 90 percent of the spots perpetuate the problem of cruising for the best free space available.

Donald Shoup, the eminent authority on parking in the U.S. had this to say: “In San Francisco, housing is expensive for people but free for most cars.”

Parking Census to Provide Real-time Data

The parking census is the first step in launching SFpark, the first “smart” parking management system which will utilize data collection sensors, additional meters, and an information dispersal system to alert users to available spots. The pilot phase of SFpark is scheduled to start this summer, last for two years, and include 6,000 of the 25,000 metered spaces as well as 12,250 spaces in 15 of 20 City-owned parking garages.

The primary goal of SFpark is to make it easier to park by providing access to real-time information. The expensive new system has a current price tag of nearly $25 million and provides tangential benefits for bicyclists, public transit users, and pedestrians.

I certainly applaud this effort: parking will be faster, bicyclists will face reduced risk from stop and go drivers, buses will be able to move more efficiently, and pedestrians will presumably be better able to predict the actions of drivers. But despite these lofty goals, they are missing the point.

“Housing is Expensive for People but Free for Most Cars.” – Donald Shoup, UCLA Professor of Urban Planning

Land is one of the most valuable resources of any city, particularly one as expensive as San Francisco, and while it is superb that the new system will take much of the guesswork out of parking, what the city really needs is to see massive financial gains from this largely untapped resource.

The city is currently grappling with a massive $522.2 million hole in its collective wallet while sitting on one of the largest potential sources of revenue available in free parking. Instead they have resorted to the uncreative, draconian measures of firing workers and cutting social services. Explaining the recent firing of 15,000 city employees — moving city workers from the payrolls to the unemployment rolls — Mayor Gavin Newsom insisted “We’re actually doing everything to avoid layoffs.”

No, they’re not. By eliminating free parking and charging people for the resources they are using, they would be able to keep people employed, and keep the city working.

Let’s Have Brunch On Our Bridges, Part II

Let’s Have Brunch On Our Bridges, Part I is from 2010, but it’s Sunday and I’m thinking about brunch again so I remembered this idea.

Say, Pittsburgh and other cities with (nice) bridges…

Wouldn’t it be great if we could have brunch on our bridges once in awhile? This time lapse video shows how they do it for the Portland Bridge Festival.

Brunch on the Bridge

Originally uploaded by Aaron I. Rogosin

There are so many great bridges to choose from here, so many beautiful things to see around the city which we just can’t appreciate when driving 25-75 mph over a bridge. You need to (be able to) stop and sit and eat brunch with your neighbors in order to be able to take it in.

Riding or walking makes it possible to take in the spectacular view more thoroughly, but the opportunity to sit and relax and talk to people and eat and absorb the city over one of our three rivers isn’t a regular experience of people here.

I think it should be.

This fits in to what I was thinking at 2 o clock in the morning several years ago when I came up with the awkward name of this blog “Re-imagine an Urban Paradise.” After all, what is could be more of an urban paradise than a retreat on one of the bridges, over the rivers? Feeling the gorgeous summer breeze while having the opportunity to have brunch in a magical space?

What Else is Possible?

• Repurposing a bridge permanently
• Let’s turn a bridge into a public park
• And extend the public market onto one of the bridges, with outdoor cafes (without door cafes?)
• Let’s have all age dance parties every night during warm weather on one side of the bridge
• And show movies over the river
• Let’s have music and art performances
• Let’s have some grass and trees and flowers

I think at least half of the space should always always comfortable public gathering space that is free and has clean and attractive drinking and bathroom facilities.

What Would You Like to See?

If you could have it your way, what would you do with the space? Imagine any bridge in any city. Then re-imagine it. Suddenly it’s not just for transportation anymore.

What else could it be?

(This blog is no longer updated: visit me at Sustainability Stories for current writing. Let’s work together).

Community Centers Should Have Gardens and Kitchens

What do you think?

If we have a place called a community center where we can gather for free or low-cost classes and exercise, why not also include a community garden and a kitchen as part of that?

Cities around the country are adding gardens to their community centers.

Learning to grow food is a priceless and lifelong skill. Beyond that, it is one that can be easily shared with others.

Community kitchens

We could grow food in our own neighborhoods and share the food with our neighbors and get to know the people around us.

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skWt4uUwzSs&feature=player_embedded]

One thing that I would love to see is a community kitchen.

We have community centers and one of the elements of these centers should involve food. Many community centers are planting community gardens and the natural step is to include a place to prepare, serve, and eat the food together.

Maybe we could even start to incorporate neighborhood pizza ovens in more places!

Vacant Lot Transformation for Green Jobs and Neighborhood Revitalization

I just found this little blue-print I drew up for a vacant lot by one of my houses in Pittsburgh. I never had the chance to put this into place, but it would be wonderful to have more non-consumerist places to spend time between home and work.

Break it Down!

There’s tons of space in Pittsburgh and tons of bricks from demolitions so it would be pretty great to build a rainy or very sunny day pavilion as you see in the top left corner.

The top right corner would hold the Constance Street community bread / pizza oven and would also benefit from spare bricks.

Going down the top center are several long picnic tables.

Trees are much needed on this highway-side of Pittsburgh’s Northside so some nice fruit and shade trees in the middle of a block will sooth the residents and be beautiful and delicious. Sporadic dots both labeled and unlabeled represent trees.

The bottom center of the lot includes plans for some weird seating to be designed by one or several of Pittsburgh’s many amazing artists.

And at the very bottom, a lovely long row of soil-cleansing, sun-worshiping, smile-making sunflowers!

Let’s Make Green Jobs Fixing Our Communities

We have so much public land that’s being wasted as over-grown and trash-filled lots. At the same time, we have so many under and unemployed people. Let’s find a way to create and fund jobs that would enhance our communities, like rehabilitating abandoned lots, while putting under-worked Americans back in the workforce.

I’m underemployed myself and I’d jump at the chance to have a part-time job cleaning up and beautifying my neighborhood.

Give Me Work and Give Me Beauty

We want bread but we want roses too!

Love to and From San Francisco

105 years after the legendary earthquake that shook San Francisco to the ground, I lived through my first San Francisco earthquake. I didn’t even feel it, but I was there when it happened.

You probably don’t know, but I left Pittsburgh last month by train for my stuff and with a plane for my body.

I moved to out here first to work for a program I’m giddily excited about — Open Streets in San Francisco.

To celebrate my new city, I will share some of my favorite scenes so far:

My first sunset over the Golden Gate Bridge:

My bicycle on a greenway:

Bikes are everywhere. These are bikes that people use to ride to work, friend’s houses, grocery stores, coffee shops. I love it.

And I enjoy this amazing tree outside my window that provides incredible shade and a home for many wonderful birds.

This temporary street furniture suited me just fine! I got to a friend’s house way before they did recently and found this lovely table and chair set up so I just made myself comfortable and got to work. When I was done, some lucky person in need of a new table and chair moved it to their place.

I’ll probably furnish my new place in much of the same way.

I’m fond of this one-man band set-up of a charming fellow I met on Market St.

I’m still the newest lady in San Francisco so every single thing is new and amazing to me. Send me all of your recommendations so I may take them seriously!

What are your favorite places?

to eat? to drink? buy books? read books? to frolic? to ride your bike? to hide from the world?

Pittsburgh, You Are Beautiful!

I am sad for my city that the Pittsburgh Steelers did not win the Super Bowl. Pittsburghers would have been so joyful for years to come if the Steelers had won the Super Bowl for the 7th time.

I watched and partied with everyone else but since we can’t celebrate the Steelers win, I want to celebrate the city of Pittsburgh by showing some pictures I really like of this city.

Light of My Life, Fire of My…

I’m kind of between cameras, so most were taken by photographers on Flickr who have listed their photos under Creative Commons. Thanks for sharing!

This is Heinz Field, home of the Steelers, taken by Flickr user brunkfordbraun.

This photo below is by my friend Dave.  Despite the criss-crossing highways and jail in the background, I think this is a beautiful photograph and scene. I love Pittsburgh’s steps! (More about Pittsburgh’s steps here). And I love the greenery! Pittsburgh, you’re beautiful!

This photo was taken on the Smithfield Bridge, one of about 446 bridges in Pittsburgh,  over the Monongahela River, one of exactly three rivers in Pittsburgh. This gorgeous photo is by Flickr user michaelrighi.

This incredible shot is the inside of the Cathedral of Learning at the University of Pittsburgh. Photo by Flickr user Talke Photography.

The photo below is of the 16th St Bridge, one I used to cross daily over the Allegheny River to go to work or the markets in the Strip District. I like this photo by simple pleasure. If you’re interested in reading an idea I have for the Strip District, check out How to Create a Shopping Paradise for Pedestrians: Carfree Saturdays in the Strip District.

These motivational steps in Bloomfield were photographed by macwagen.

I took the photo below of Allegheny Cemetery. This was at noon on a Friday. The sky was so strange!

Something else beautiful:

That 500 people turn out, in the middle of the day on a Wednesday, for the opening of a new bridge just for bicycles and pedestrians. Also beautiful, that Pittsburgh is building bridges for bicycles and pedestrians. Photo by Kordite.

If you’d like to see Pittsburgh in live action, I think the city looks fantastic in this video by Streetfilms, one of my very favorite organizations. I helped put it together for my job at Bike Pittsburgh and a friend recently suggested that I may have killed the internet by over-posting the video. Yikes, so tacky! But the city really does look GLORIOUS here, it’s impossible not to keep looking at!

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Readings on Winter, Snow, Getting Stuck, and the Importance of Options

For those of you who are following the three whole posts I’ve written since November and for those who have commented even when things seem dead on this side of things, thank you! I’m still getting back into the swing of things since the move.

Today I’d like to recommend some links that I’ve enjoyed recently for your reading pleasure or dinner party banter preparation.

I really enjoyed Erik Weber’s piece yesterday in Greater Greater Washington about the different realities of a crippling snowstorm when you depend on a car to get to the suburbs (you get stuck, sometimes up to 13 hours as happened to many in the DC area) or you live in the city where you have the options of car, bus, train, bike, walking, and in some cases, even skiing to get around.

This excerpt is long but I think important and fits in quite well with topics I have addressed all over this blog: that dependence on cars — or any one type of transportation — is extremely limiting. What we need here in the U.S. and everywhere is the ability and availability for people to choose how they want to get around and be able to do that safely.

Cars give people mobility. But what’s more important is accessibility. Sometimes these are the same: if I live 10 miles from a grocery, and I own a car, I have access to the grocery.

But if my car breaks down, it snows a foot and a half, or I’m suddenly unable to drive for another reason, I no longer have access to that grocery. Because I’ve relied on a single means of mobility, when it is no longer available, both my mobility and accessibility are severely diminished.

Many people often argue that smart growth proponents (like me) are trying to force people of their cars in favor of biking, walking and transit. But, to me, growing smarter really is just providing more legitimate options. I don’t necessarily want to live in a place where you can’t have a car. Nor do I want to force other people to do so.

I do, though, want to live in a place where you don’t need a car, a place where, when driving is no longer an option, we are not imprisoned by our built environment.

Me too. What about you? Has snow made getting around harder? What’s your experience?

Readings on Transit

This is a link that I’ve been meaning to draw attention to for awhile.

This is a post from August that was recommended by a reader from a blog called “A Midwest Story.” It’s an analysis of public transportation perception in the U.S. and abroad, there are three posts before this one that address different facets of public transportation.

The American perspective:

The fact that American riders are poorer indicates that in U.S. public transportation services are focused on people that are unable to drive a car – because they cannot afford one or because they are to young or to poor. Now, if we eliminate the riders under 18, and we consider the  the other market segments – the poor and the disabled – in correlation with American culture , the conclusion is striking. In the U.S. public transit is considered by the public as well as their representatives as an alternative for the society’s destitute no different than public assistance services such as welfare and food stamps.

And the German perspective:

Unlike their American counterparts, Germans are more likely to use public transit indifferent of income or car ownership and, to a much larger extent, as a viable alternative for commuters. The way that politicians and their constituents regard public transportation is also different. At the local level, it is an alternative which lowers congestion in urban area and the  pollution damage to historical buildings. At the state and federal level it is a green, sustainable alternative. And for riders it is, beyond being the  only option for the poor and disabled, a comfortable alternative to spending empty hours commuting by car

What do you think?

On Biking and Fear

Check out Elly Blue’s post on Grist on fear and bicycles.

Many people don’t bike out of fear — with the most significant terrifying factor, of course, being cars. As many as 60 percent of people in U.S. cities would like to ride a bicycle if it weren’t for traffic-related concerns.

Yet..

Bicycling […] is astoundingly, incontrovertibly good for you. A 2009 review of the scientific literature found that the slight increase in risk from bicycle crashes is more than offset by the vast improvements in overall health and lifespan when you ride a bicycle for transportation. In fact, the health benefits of bicycling are nine times greater than the safety gains from driving instead.

And…

The real thing that’s killing us is that we continue to create places that impose barriers to actually being able to move your body. High-speed streets without sidewalks or crossings. Walkable neighborhoods where there is literally nowhere to go. Gyms accessible primarily by car.

Suggested Reading by Bike Pittsburgh

Some things I’m reading at work:

The Post-Gazette continues blaming pedestrians for the increase in pedestrian fatalities, but is this just more of the same “windshield perspective?”

Is bike-sharing a possibility in Pittsburgh?

Want to see some of the steepest streets in the world? Check out Rick Sebak’s video of the annual Pittsburgh bike race, the Dirty Dozen.

Grist goes over the six reasons free parking is the dumbest thing you’re subsidizing and StreetsBlog shows how European parking policies are leaving the US behind.

Sec. of Transportation Ray LaHood touts how bike infrastructure creates more direct jobs, more indirect jobs, and more induced jobs per dollar than either road upgrades or road resurfacing with national bike advocates

New Streetfilms About Pittsburgh Out Today!

Streetfilms just released their newest film about Pittsburgh! I worked for a while trying to convince Clarence Eckerson, Jr to come see how beautiful Pittsburgh is and to see the exciting and vibrant livable streets movement here.

If you’re not familiar with the work of Streetfilms, now is the time to start. They’ve made nearly 340 short films about livable streets around the world. It’s part of a genre I’ve been calling “Infrastructure Porn”.

Clarence came to Pittsburgh to film the video in November and today released his 7 minute snapshot of the city. It’s certainly worth a watch. Check out my post from last month about some of the excellent work of Streetfilms:

The Case for Separated Bike Lanes

I can’t embed the Pittsburgh video now, but take a look at it, the city looks spectacular!

Check it out here! And let me know what you think!

(I’m in it, and I had the opportunity to use the word “swoony”!)

 

What a Fantastic Morning! Walking, Yoga, Local Businesses, Delicious Foods

I woke at 5:30am and before 9 am, I had walked two miles, attended two yoga classes, and patronized four local businesses!

It’s getting better.

I started the day by walking to Yoga Hive, a new yoga studio recently opened by Kimberly Musial. Since they just opened, they have a special rate and you can try it out for $10 for two weeks. Just ten dollars — for unlimited classes!

This photo is not me. Taken by flickr user Shunpikie

So after a lovely first sweaty class, I stayed for the “Guided Meditation” which was so soothing and effective at quieting my constantly rushing mind that I think I may have fallen asleep. It was an incredibly restful feeling and left me feeling like I didn’t have a care in the world. I was even able to block out the car sounds outside on Penn Ave — a feat that is nearly impossible for me.

After yoga, I grabbed the newspaper from a convenience store, a cup of coffee from Voluto to sip while reading the Post-Gazette. My stroll home was lovely, too, and I stopped at People’s Grocery for an onion to assemble my future magnificent breakfast.

The Breakfast Brigade: Bagels, Mushrooms, Habaneros, Oh My!

I have a swell breakfast routine and it involves listening to NPR while whipping up a fairly elaborate bagel based meal and then reading the newspaper while eating.

Here’s my incredibly addictive breakfast:

• An everything bagel (or two), sliced, toasted.
• Cream cheese (onion and chives!)
• Sliced onion
• Thin slices of apple
• A delicious cheese (I usually use Havarti with Dill or some cheddar)
• Habanero (if you like it, I can’t have a meal without one)
• Cilantro (if you like it, if you’ve got it, I love it)
• Sauteed mushroom (these last two if you want to get really fancy, I do)
• Sauteed spinach

After you’ve toasted the bagel, cover it with cream cheese.

Slice the apple paper thin and place 2-3 slices all over the bottom half of the bagel. This will cover the hole of the bagel and allow you to cover it with even more food.

Just a small part of my habanero stash that I saved for my move from DC to Pittsburgh last year

Throw some onion on top of that for crunch and flavor.

Add mushrooms and spinach.

Cover all of the food with thin slices of your extra cheese to melt. Put the bagel back in the toaster oven or broiler and melt the cheese.

Add cilantro and minced habanero to the top and then cover with the other half of the bagel.

Slice in half and savor the massive six inch high bagel. I wish I had a picture to show you but I get so excited about my bagel that I eat too fast!

Now I’m walking to work because sometimes I like to move even more slowly than my bicycle.

Have a great day!

Reimagining Public Space on PARK(ing) Day

A few days ago there were an outstanding 31 organizations and businesses in Pittsburgh working to recreate parking spaces to transform for public usage on PARK(ing) Day on September 17.

Now there are 47! Keep up with the growing list here.

What the heck is PARK(ing) Day?

(directly from the original organizers)

PARK(ing) Day is a annual open-source global event where citizens, artists and activists collaborate to temporarily transform metered parking spaces into “PARK(ing)” spaces: temporary public places. The project began in 2005 when Rebar, a San Francisco art and design studio, converted a single metered parking space into a temporary public park in downtown San Francisco. Since 2005, PARK(ing) Day has evolved into a global movement, with organizations and individuals (operating independently of Rebar but following an established set of guidelines) creating new forms of temporary public space in urban contexts around the world.

The mission of PARK(ing) Day is to call attention to the need for more urban open space, to generate critical debate around how public space is created and allocated, and to improve the quality of urban human habitat … at least until the meter runs out!

Curious what the most innovative museums, designers, artists, architects, and other forward-thinking businesses might develop? Bike Pittsburgh members are developing a bike tour of all the spots and…

I Just Can’t Wait!

Greenery swoon in Seattle. Imagine if we had this lining our streets all the time! Yum! photo by Flickr user Rob Ketcherside

Check out the current Pittsburgh list!

South Side Local Development Company
AIA Pittsburgh
Western PA Conservancy
Cultural District
Oakland Planning & Development Corporation
Bloomfield Development Corporation
Lawrenceville United
Whole Foods
East Liberty Development, Inc.
Friends of the Pgh Urban Forest
CMU Architecture Studio
Bike Pittsburgh
Allegheny Commons Initiative
CDCP
Mattress Factory
The Andy Warhol Museum
Kelly-Strayhorn Theater
REI
Pittsburgh Parks Conservancy
ARTica Gallery
EDGE Studio
GTECH
Pittsburgh Glass Center
Rothschild Doyno Collaborative
Children’s Museum
Penn State University
Shaler Elementary School
Chatham University ASLA Club
Washington and Jefferson College
Brandon Ciampaglia
The ToonSeum
Lili Coffee Shop
The Urban Gypsy
Commonwealth Press
CTAC
Animal Friends
Carnegie Science Center
Chalk for Peace
Winchester Thurston
Artist Image Resource
L’ville Dog Park
OTB Cafe
Caffe Davio
Dance on Water: Story Dancing
Nina Marie Barbuto
Gabe Felice
Christina Miller
Suzanne Trenney
Monika Gibson