Grand News of New Haven writer
July 27, 2008
By Andy Ross
612 Chapel Street
New Haven, Ct 06511
andy@andyrossgroup.com
If you think downtown parking spaces are difficult to find now, just wait. Two new high schools are under construction on prime downtown real estate both scheduled to open its doors in the next 18 months. One of them is located in the heart of downtown on College and Crown and the other less than a mile away on Water and Olive streets. The two combined Schools will serve an estimated 1,000 students and will employ approximately 125 staffers. More than half of these students will be of driving age. It is likely that hundreds of precious parking spaces will be occupied by students and staff, and this will add to an already-congested downtown parking situation, not to mention the additional traffic.
Parking in downtown is simply insufficient to service the continued growth. Growth is a good idea for workers, visitors, merchants, and others who keep our local economy going. Not having sufficient parking is a bad idea. Retail merchants and occupants of office space are going to suffer and will eventfully lead to their exodus of the city.
According to the project manager for the new schools—The Cooperative Arts and Humanities High School, and The Metropolitan Business Academy—on-site parking has only been created for the staff at the schools, not for the students. That is the most absurd thing I have ever heard. This is the year 2007. An estimated 65% of driving age students own or have access to a car. Of that number 40% drive to school. When I was in high school we were not allowed to drive in either, but we did. If only 15% of the student population absorbs more of the downtown parking that is another approx. 150 spaces that are not going to be available for paying customers and clients of downtown businesses.
It seems reasonable that since an estimated 65 percent of students of driving age own or
This city needs to look before it leaps. City Hall seems to know how to attract commercial development by offering millions of tax payer’s dollars to developers as incentives. It is time we make developers provide for efficient and adequate parking.
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