Comments on: City Set to Build Two Downtown Parking Garages

By: Eric

Eric — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 13:00:11 +0000

Minor correction…You do need to be there before 5pm to fill out a speaker slip and submit it before things get started.

http://www.columbuscitycouncil.org/how_do_i/speak.asp

I think calle’s last paragraph summed it up best.

Let’s all make a concerted effort to publicize important agenda items at upcoming council meetings.

By: walkerevans

walkerevans — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 12:36:41 +0000

Just for clarification, council meetings start at 5pm, not before 5pm.

And I believe they need people to voice their opinions at these meetings so that their arguments are “on the record” so to speak. I don’t think anyone is discounting online discussions or blogging, but there are procedures to be followed when it comes to all levels of government.

If one person can’t go, we need to find someone else who can.

By: calle13

calle13 — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 02:23:54 +0000

Thank you for that info Walker. Even before “the internet” took off, my guess is that Council requires people to show up in person, vs. calling or writing a letter. Why do this? You know the answer as well as I do. Basically it means most people can’t go, because like Eric we can’t go and sit around when we have other stuff (work, childcare, school, getting home) going on.

If they are serious about hearing from the public, then of course online comments could be submitted and would be considered. Heck, we could put together a 2 minute PPT or video about why the garages stink.

While I am glad that Council was “disappointed” as opposed to “relieved” that people didn’t show up about the design, why can’t they point out the crapiness themselves, as Eric so eloquently states?

And John, while technically no one may care about your opinion, aren’t you one of these “young professionals” that was raised in Columbus but then left? Aren’t you the perfect candidate for returning to Columbus? In fact aren’t you open to returning, given the right conditions? Not that if they had done the garages right, that you would have packed your bags and left Chicago, but still.

So there’s two parts - short term (dealing with the system as it is) - Walker is absolutely right, we need bodies at the meeting, people speaking out. Long term we need to change the system so that other forms of participation are valid, allowed, and encouraged.

By: John

John — Fri, 08 Feb 2008 00:56:39 +0000

I e-mailed the Mayor about the zoning discrepancy and my concern regarding the poor design the day before Council approved it. I guess I should have included council on my e-mail too. Considering that I don’t live in Columbus though, I’m not sure anyone cares about my opinion on the issue.

Are there shovels in the ground? It’s not like it’s too late to change it.

By: Eric

Eric — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 19:12:27 +0000

That’s disappointing to hear Walker. I’ll keep that in mind for the future, but it’s not often that I can be in council chambers before 5:00 on Monday and sit there for two hours. They need a way to submit comments online. I’m not sure if emailing their aides is effective at all.

It sounds like: 1) they are afraid to point out the crappiness of this garage, and 2) things they read online from dozens of people have no meaning, while someone to standing up to talk for 22 seconds in front of them carries the weight of the world.

Councilwoman O’Shaughnessy just had a meeting about Complete Streets. Those principles would appear to be at complete odds with a single-use parking garage.

By: walkerevans

walkerevans — Thu, 07 Feb 2008 18:43:14 +0000

As far as design issues go, I received word from folks at City Council that no one showed up to object to the design elements, which they were disappointed about as people have obviously been willing to toss in their two cents online.

We need to get more activists to go speak to Council about these issues if we actually want to make a difference.

By: johnwirtz

johnwirtz — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 18:35:42 +0000

I should have looked at the zoning code ages ago. The garages do not meet the requirements of the zoning code. I just posted it here on RetroMetro:

http://columbusretrometro.typepad.com/columbus_retrometro/2008/01/parking-garage.html

By: John

John — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:37:54 +0000

Garage on hold, but not for the right reasons:

http://dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2008/01/28/council.html

By: John

John — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 13:08:07 +0000

I was making some rough estimates of the cost per vehicle of this garage. I assumed the service life of the garage would be 50 years, the garage would be 100% occupied on work days (with no turnover), and 50% occupied on all other days. With those assumptions, the city would spend $1.22 per vehicle for the next 50 years in River South and $1.46 per vehicle in the Discovery District. Not quite as much as buying everyone a bus pass (at current prices), but close.

By: John Wirtz

John Wirtz — Sun, 20 Jan 2008 13:55:03 +0000

I feel like if parking were truly needed, the private sector would build it and profit from it, without the city having to chip in roughly $15 Million per garage.