Does Troy need a parking garage downtown? Why/why not? Who should pay for it, and how?
From what I understand, the City has commissioned a study on downtown parking and the results and recommendations of that study may not be released before the Primary Election, it is almost premature to talk about a parking garage at this point. But what we can talk about is the changing face of downtown parking. Right now, downtown is seeing the development of second and third story residential units and given the desire for many people to live in a more walkable environment, these downtown housing units will probably become more and more attractive. But any successful effort to sell or lease these housing units will have to address the parking for those individuals living there.
And of course, with more residents, more businesses may find downtown a more attractive option to set up shop. What we should look at are effective strategies to ensure that the downtown environment has safe, accessible and convenient parking. Programs such as a Residential Parking Permit Program should be explored. We should also be asking the question on whether two hours is a plausible time per space for downtown parking. I don’t believe our parking issues hinge solely on the development of a parking garage, but other strategies should be studied as well.
