Parking Illusion

"The Avenue"

The commercial street in the two above images was first developed over 100 years ago to serve surrounding farms. Notice the business parking areas highlighted in yellow in the lower image. Anyone familiar with retail parking needs in the United States would conclude that there was more than sufficient spaces available for potential customers. Given that many customers walk from the adjacant residential neighborhood, this sufficiency would appear certain. They would be wrong. The parking adequacy is an illusion.

Unintended Consequences

In the 1950s parking requirements for new businesses were established in San Jose. The impact on subsequent redevelopment along "The Avenue" was substantial.

Land value became differentiated by parking. The fortunate were those with sufficient undeveloped land to create new surface parking. The unfortunate those with little surplus land to provide the now required parking for new businesses. Others with sufficient funds to buy nearby property would tear down the existing buildings and create new parking.

As illustrated below, some of the solidly built 50 to 100 year old structures along the street began to disappear. Suburban style structures responding to the new parking requirements began to appear. Only in recent years, with new found appreciation for the value of a walkable street, did new businesses, where able, attempt to bring back traditional amenities.


These older buildings along the avenue have been modified over the years, but the changes have for the most part enhanced their attractiveness and structural integrity. They are the kinds of buildings, with an interesting and varied facade flush with the sidewalk, that make walking the avenue a pleasure. Many of these types of structures were lost during the last 50 years.



Above we find the earliest products of the city's new parking requirements enacted in the 1950s. Wonder what they replaced? Each of these developments represents a different approach to satisfying the city's mandate of a certain number of parking spaces, depending on the uses, on the same property. The one point in common of each of these developments is that they are ugly and encourage cars over pedestrians. People walking by tend to speed up, watching the driveways carefully to avoid incoming and outgoing vehicles. A relaxing stroll is no more. Wonder how well those columns in the two lower photos would survive a big earthquake?

This development was created within the last 10 years. It replaced a really ugly building and clearly improved the pedestrian ambiance of this section of "The Avenue". People always seem to be sitting at the sidewalk tables throughout the year. This is an example of success in spite of the parking situation and due to the availability of sufficient parking spaces behind and along the side of the new building.

Hoarding

Cumulatively there was more than adequate parking for all the businesses that were operating or might operate on the street. However, given the importance of parking to property value, hoarding of parking became prevalent. Most parking spaces were limited to businesses located on the same property as the parking. Some property owners even hired what were jokingly called "parking nazis" to patrol their parking lots and verbally abuse people seen walking to businesses on other properties. Others placed signs at the entrance and throughout their parking lots threatening to tow away cars 24 hours a day, not just during the operating hours of their resident businesses.

The vast majority of the parking lots along "The Avenue" contain signs as represented by the four signs above on the left. The restricted bank parking on the extreme left contained multiple times as many spaces as would be required for a typical bank. Signs similar to the one on the right are limited to less than 10% of the parking spaces along "The Avenue".

This parking lot is owned by the adjoining delicatessen. It sits on a corner lot directly on the avenue. The number of cars usually sitting on the lot during daytime business hours is similar to what is displayed in the image - less than 25% of capacity. A valuable business site is thus paved with asphalt that generates no jobs or services. A striking example of the negative impact of competition unmoderated by cooperation.

Customers Unwelcome

The restrictions discourage customers from parking and shopping at a number of establishments. They limit strolling "The Avenue" looking for potential purchases. The restrictions reduce considerably the number of functional parking spaces that are available to business customers. The restrictions are self-defeating and a major contributor to the marginal nature of many of the businesses on the street. The residential neighbors are unhappy with the lack of quality business choices arising from the deficiency in parking choices.

Land Owners Hurt Themselves

New businesses with high parking requirements, like restaurants, became very difficult to establish. Despite being located at the center of one of the most affluent neighborhoods in the city, the amount land owners can charge on their leases is below that charged in more successful business areas.

Streetscape Improvement

The city with support from the business owners initiated an improvement plan for the street completed in 1990. However, the plan focused on streetscape appearance and did not tackle the overall parking situation.


The streetscape project dramatically improved the appearance along the avenue. Key improvements included crosswalks, concrete planting boxes, archways, and Sycamore street trees. The tying together of the disparate structures along "The Avenue" through these common features was most beneficial in increasing the attractiveness to potential customers.

Changed Approach

In 2007 a new approach was adopted by the city for "The Avenue". The zoning change removed most parking requirements for establishing certain new businesses on the street.

The neighborhood association wanted to work cooperatively with business owners, but was concerned with the potential impact of such an ordinance change on residential areas within an easy walking distance. The association was concerned given the number of property owners who have restricted parking to persons patronizing businesses on their property. Removal of parking requirements, combined with no change in the parking restriction status quo, could be a recipe for congestion in the neighborhood. Toward the end of 2006, a cooperative approach was chosen combined with consistent communication among community leaders and a commitment by the business association to work with property owners to open up parking availability.

Future City Development

The simple ideal, with benefit for all concerned, would be parking lots behind the businesses that are all open to the public without restriction and that are interconnected by driveways to minimize cars entering the street and potentially conflicting with pedestrians. This is the approach in thriving business districts. With more resources, underground parking and parking garages in the rear might be considered. The latter approach increases the feasibility of development above the parking, with offices or residential space in second or third stories.

Neither unfettered private property rights nor laisez faire capitalism is the answer for a successful future. That has already been tried and failed. Future economic success on "The Avenue" requires that free enterprise be tempered by cooperation among the land owners. To avoid a free ride by those who refuse to cooperate, government may need to enter the fray with the preverbial carrot and stick.