Quote:
Originally Posted by Fuzz
There is a 1000 stall parkade less than a block away! There is another parkade literally directly next door to Anytime Fitness. Your decision to stop going to a gym hinged on getting a spot directly in front of it? Need I point out the irony of that?
Seriously...
https://goo.gl/maps/zw3XD7DoK5P2
Oh, but the bike lane took our parking! Come on. |
Haha, I knew somebody would make this comment. I like to go to the gym after work (while I work in the core, my job requires use of a car). Sure I could go home and walk or bike to the gym, or pay to park at a nearby parkade but that would be a waste of my time or money. When there are many other gyms around with free parking at the same monthly cost it simply didn't make sense to continue going there.
Quote:
Originally Posted by shermanator
I would argue that if a downtown restaurant hinges on people finding parking in the same block then it must not be a very good restaurant. Especially given that tens of thousands of people work in the vicinity within walking distance. State and Main isn't closing it's doors. Neither is Masters. Neither is The Black Cat. Neither are any of the many restaurants on Stephen Avenue where there has never been a big focus on parking.
I don't disagree that we will see more high end restaurants closing their doors in the near future. But to insist that bike lanes have anything to do with it is simply a lazy excuse to get a dig in at said bike lanes.
IMO the biggest reason high end restaurants are going to shut their doors is they don't have the corporate money to pay for all the customer's high priced meals. Escoba's owner referencing a 45% drop in sales due to the downturn? That seems like a no brainer. Referencing the increase in property taxes on top of that? Absolutely. The proposal to increase minimum wage on top of that? It's a stretch, but absolutely.
But bike lanes? Give your head a shake
|
Both your and Fuzz's points are missing the fact that for streetfront retail parking,
the perception of parking availability is more important than the availability of parking itself. If drivers can't see parking spaces in front of them, the idea that parking is difficult to come by becomes fact to them, even if there is a massive parkade around the corner. Silly I know, but it's a phenomenon that's been observed for quite some time. The bike lane is absolutely a factor for poor retail fortunes on that stretch of 8th. To deny so is foolish.