I’ll admit to being either very lucky or very picky about my residential parking situations. Let’s go with picky. In my old neighborhood, I had access to a lot with a designated space, and eventually parked in a one-car garage. The reason for moving into the garage had to do with my car getting broken into twice, and of those two times, once it was stealthily borrowed, let’s just say. In all, I had to replace an ignition, passenger window, windshield, radiator, and hood due to these two break-ins. But on the bright side, as far as I can tell, nothing was stolen out of the car (besides the radiator, and oh, the car). This was in a lot with fairly decent lighting and lots of people in the vicinity. It was stolen maybe twenty feet from where I was sleeping.
Given that experience, when it came time to move, I was extremely picky. When making calls, I hung up as soon as someone said “on-street parking” or “we can’t guarantee a spot.” I don’t drive all the time, but I’m not quite ready to get rid of my car yet. It’s a Honda, and if it does what a Honda is supposed to do, should last awhile still. It’s got too many miles to appeal to most buyers at this point. Where I am now, there’s gated parking, a designated parking spot in a very well-lit area, a camera near my spot, and probably a quarter of the residents have to pass my spot to leave. I didn’t demand all that, but it’s much more security than I’ve had anywhere I’ve lived in recent years. And I still lock the car and put on the anti-theft steering wheel bar.
I was this selective because I had heard plenty of stories from friends and foes alike regarding ticketing, towing, and theft. Some people have to park blocks away. Several streets have parking on one side only, and that changes depending on what day it is. I remember wanting to look at housing on a certain lovely street in the West End, but knew I’d be handing over half my paycheck every month because my inability to remember what day it is would result in tickets. I can just hear the cops chuckling to each other– “I don’t have money to take the kids to see that new Hannah Montana movie.” “Don’t sweat it Earl. Go ticket the blue car down on Oxford.” “Right.”
But not everyone can be as selective. The cost of rent alone can be a struggle. If living downtown, there are places to get secure parking; usually this means an extra hundred or so dollars every month. With really steep rent in that area to start with, having to pay extra to park the car (which may only be used once a week for grocery shopping/visiting relatives/etc.) might be the deal breaker for some who are thinking of moving to the city. Trying to arrange less expensive overnight parking in the city’s parking garages could be one solution, as suggested by Luis Cotto. The pricetag would be less intimidating, and the city–not some random business–would profit.
But even for neighborhood residents attempting to park downtown, things can get sticky. As Helder notes, the metered parking can be vague about when it costs to park in a spot. While the meter refers motorists to signs presumably nearby to indicate hours, I know from experience that such signs are not always around. Street signs get knocked over, and are not always replaced in a timely fashion. I mean, there are streets that totally lack name signs, and have for years. I’m not sure how much of a priority it is for the city to replace parking signs, which with their arrows and small print, are not much of a help usually anyway.
What’s being done to address all this? What can be done? Luis has a few ideas:
Next, on to the perception issue…how does one disprove a negative. Weapons of Mass Destruction…prove to us you don’t have any!! {d’oh!} The aforementioned (I’ll have to look, but I’m pretty sure that’s the first time I’ve used that word) HPA has a really nice map outlining where parking exists and for how much. This is a beginning. Printed brochures should be made by the thousands and put up at regional tourist sites like the Essex Steam Train and Boat Ride. An easy to remember website (hartfordparking.com, downtownparking.com, parkhartford.com, you get the idea) should exist where people can easily go and get reminded on what’s available. Finally, merchants in downtown have to do their part and get the word out. If there’s a website, put it in your ads….brochures? carry them in your restaurant? It’s took a while to get this bad rep…it won’t reverse overnight…but it has to start happening yesterday.
Some places downtown will validate parking…maybe more could do this during certain off-peak hours to encourage more business? Another approach to alleviating some of this irritation could be to install bike racks in visible places. Right now, there’s a rack outside the library and next to the Wadsworth Atheneum. There are probably more, but those are the only ones that come to mind. I know that bikes can be tied to various things–posts, poles, fences–but as more people begin biking, we’re going to have more vying for a few spots. Setting something up on Asylum and Pratt would be a good start.
