Parking changes on the way for Evergreen Park

Of course no mention of 30 minutes parking spots!

Some of us just want to do a couple of errands in our lunch hour but it is becoming more and more impossible to do so. Why doesn't the CC want to help residents go about our everyday lives?

Quoting Filseth:

"Parking is a scarce resource and we need to manage it," Filseth said. "And the reality is that either today or in the future there may not be enough supply no matter what we do to meet all potential demand for it.

"At same time, we need to recognize that a neighborhood is a neighborhood and not just a parking resource."

AMEN to the above and may those comments translate to a broader acknowledgement by City Staff, all of CC, and regional planners that we MUST PLAN for CARS even if we'd prefer to believe that we needn't.

To resident,
“No mention of 30 minute parking spots”
All spots are 2 hour.

To Roger

Yes, that's why we need 30 minute spots. When people are parking for 2 hours in the lunch hour it means there is no space for someone to park for just a few minutes. A 30 minute spot will provide much more turnover for those of us running errands rather than having a 1 hour lunch.

"Councilman Adrian Fine had a broader frustration. He pointed to the council's discussions of RPP districts in recent weeks and suggested that each is becoming "too customized."

Perhaps someone could tell Mr. Fine that there are major differences among our neighborhoods and they need difference solutions, not taking the easy one-size-fits all solution.

For the record, I leave my house about 5-6 times a day and often bike through the Cal ave area on the way to do errands, pick up/drop-off kids from school and I always see tons of available parking spaces. Just yesterday biking from Sherman, up Park Blvd, left on Cal Ave, Right on birch and left of college I counted 28 open spaces. This was around 1:15. Then again later. What I'm annoyed at is the people who live in Condo complex that's along Park Blvd and Sherman and Grant Ave who have visitors or more than one car have to walk several blocks to use their parking permit because this was extended. I have a parking permit for visitors but it's basically useful because, A: the parking guys still hand out tickets, or B: there is very limited available space for Mayfield residents. This program only benefits those who live to the North of Cal. Ave,

Can someone explain the parking requirements in laymen's terms? I thought that I understood the rules for parking downtown and in the "second" downtown (California Avenue area). Is it still free two-hour parking for residents of the city?

Free for residents and non-residents. Time limits are generally clearly posted. Spaces that require a permit are also clearly marked. I know of one garage downtown that charges and that is of course clear upon entry. I don't know if the color zones still apply downtown, but I wouldn't even attempt to explain that program.

The lunchtime parking impact starts around 11.15 am around Cal Ave and downtown. Bikermom says she has counted many spots in the 2 hour zones at 1.15 which must be the time the rush ends, but I have had problems finding parking in both Cal Ave and downtown in the morning hours. I generally try to run errands late morning, but am very aware that parking can be difficult. Even in midtown, parking in the public lot can be difficult anytime after 10.00 am until well after 4.00 pm. 30 minute parking spots would enable several errands to be done in more than one location in the same trip. At present it is often the case that doing more than one a day is impossible. Whether it is picking up books at the library, dropping off dry cleaning or tax documents with a tax preparer, or grabbing a sandwich, short term 30 min parking is crucial to prevent traffic circling for a space.

As precedent, we do have a 24-minute spot in front of the Cambridge Post Office.
Fed Ex (old Kinko's) would be a good place for another.

I am opposed to using El Camino Real for the neighborhood parking garage system. I think it would be better to make all of El Camino Real 2 hour parking, instead of the unlimited it is now on stretches North of Cambridge. Street parking on a business district arterial should be 2 hours max.