Off-street parking for employeesIn looking at some of the old threads I saw a discussion about the requirements for off-street parking and mixed use commercial buildings. The problem we have is where commercial is right next to residential and they (employees) use the residential street as their parking lot. Do some ordinances actually state the number of parking spaces per employee per type of commercial activity??
Actually most ordinances do specify minimum parking requirements. I would suggest that you look at your municipality's website first (since they are often posted there), or if not just go in and ask what the criteria is. You could even ask to see the project site plan and the findings for a particular project to know what it is they required.
Part of the problem though, is that many retailers request their employees to park on the street to make parking in the lots available for customers. The appearance of parking leads people to believe that the place isn't crowded and they need their business. Like Walmart, but on a much smaller level.
Good luck!
That's total wild... I look at stores that have lots of empty parking spaces and think.... either I'm early or there's nothing much there. This "complex" has a dental office (& there is a requirement for that in the 'plan'-- I think one space for each chair) and a muffler shop (2 required) and then a small store (?) and vacant space. Personally I think it's too much "stuff" in too small of space, but suppose it follows the requirements.
But I feel it's too much impact on too small of space. It is surprising that during a recent resurfacing of the road they (employees) were able to find parking spaces in other spots.
What is the problem with that? I am assuming these are not 24-hour businesses and the residents are using their vehicles to drive to work before most of the stores/services open. If so, that is the maximization of space and the paved area. You are essentially getting two parking spaces out of one. Is this not the case?Originally posted by hankjoe
Do the residents have a problem finding a space when they return home in the evening? If so, resident-only parking restrictions after 4:00pm or 5:00pm could work.
One of my pet peeves is parking regulations that dictate spaces based on the number of employees. Businesses hire and fire employees all the time. Many times businesses don't even have a good grasp of exactly how many employees they will have until they can judge how successful they are. When a business space changes ownership, the number of employees will change. Its also a pain to enforce.
ditto, jmello - if on-street parking is allowed in the residential area, then what's the problem? Unless, there is blocking of driveways and resident on-street parking is more difficult.
I'm sorry. Is my bias showing?
Us planning types like on-street parking, but it is a big concern among the townspeople here. I personally don't see why its offensive to have someone park in front of your house to go to a local business. The alternative of course would be to ruin historic urban areas to create off-street parking lots.
Actually, the parking to go to the business is not the problem. How long can you spend in a store, maybe an hour? The problem is the employees arriving at 8 stay till 5 and yes it does make it difficult to park in front of ones, own home and forget about where your guests will park if you have someone over to lunch, they have to park in the next blocks. I've often thought all the neighbors should get up at 7 AM park all their cars on the street and that way maybe the business employees will use their parking lot or have to park another block away.... Unfortunately it will make those people in the NEXT block miserable.
It's just irksome, that the parking lot is empty (customers come & go) and the street is packed on both sides of the street.
In that case I would recommend several options:
1) 2-hour parking limit from 8am-6pm on weekdays
2) Resident parking permit program and a 2-hour parking limit for non-residents from 8am-6pm on weekdays
3) Resident parking permit program and prohibit non-residents from 4pm to 10am on weekdays
There are other combinations, but these are what I would suggest. You could include weekends if that is a problem and parking enforcement staff works on Sunday.
Yeah, this doesnt sound like anything a little sticker in the car window couldnt solve. Each house gets X amount parking stickers....
This is in place around the stadiums in Philly on gamedays, college towns, etc.
Use of on-street parking to help fulfill off-street requirements?
On-Street Parking
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