San Rafael has put together one of those Gawd-awful design-by-committees to do a station area plan for its downtown. This is for when the new ‘SMART’ rail line reaches the downtown.
Here some of their recommendations:
- Additional traffic lanes on Hetherton St.
- 3rd St. crosswalk elimination
- 1:1 parking requirement
- Potential public garage
- Potential future transit parking
It is amazing how so many of these transit station area-plans morph into autocentric parking plans.
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Sad, but not surprising. I hope they come to their senses.
How else do you expect people to get to the station realistically? Except for a few houses in walking distance, Marin residents are not going to use SMART unless there is a viable park and ride option.
Amy: In the absence of these large garages, the land would be used for other purposes, like housing and retail. So there would be a lot more people coming and going from the immediate vicinity.
The idea is that the additional residents and businesses will more than make up for the lack of parking through the taxes they pay, the walking-distance businesses they support, and the rides they take on SMART and other transit. At the same time, there will still be parking options for people who need it and are willing to pay for it– just not subsidized parking.