Reply to APS - First Career Center Concept

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Posting from AEM and a variety of emails going around the neighborhood.  Here is the full email from Erik Gutshall:

You may receive a formal reply from Chair Garvey on behalf of the entire Board, but because this is an issue I care deeply about and recognizing that I may have a different take than my colleagues, I wanted to clarify my approach:

NEED FOR PARKING: I think it's safe to say that not one Board Member wants the CC to be under-parked, which I will define as an insuffucient number of spaces that drivers find themselves with no other viable option than driving (see TDM below), but no access to a reasonably available space.  "reasonably available" does not mean free, or within a 1-block radius.  It includes market rate fees, whether incorporated as a compensation benefit or not, and walkable distance can include up to 1/2 mile and certainly within 1/4 mile.   Need for parking is not the same as demand for parking.  Drivers will always gobble up free and convenient parking, as was the model for APS until relatively recently.

AVAILABLE PARKING (on-street):  I support the notion that every household should have access to parking within walking distance of their home.  Sometimes parking is free (or very low-cost) and sometimes it has a cost, usually depending on how the housing was developed, with space limitations per household increasingly more common. Some amount of parking for staff, faculty, students and visitors should be accommodated on neighborhood streets.  Just as I would expect neighbors to reject the notion that all parking can be accommodated in the neighborhood, I reject the notion that the neighborhood can't support any of the needed parking.

AVAILABLE PARKING (nearby garages):  Consistent with #1 above, nearby available parking in existing garages can and should  be used to satisfy parking needs for CC.

TRANSPORTATION DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM):  Arlington has had great success with using TDMs to lower the  demand for parking throughout the County, despite constant protests that "it'll never work."  I respect that staff/faculty may have different habits than a typical office commuter, but I have not seen any analysis that demonstrates barriers that can not be overcome.  Guaranteed Ride Home was created to address one common barrier for all commuters.  I support further exploring the efficacy of APS TDM  measures to encourage walking, biking, transit use and carpooling for commuting.

NEW PARKING (on-street):  I do not support "wishful planning" to hope that parking just takes care of itself.  To the extent that items 1-4 still leave a deficit of needed parking, I support exploring adding on-street parking with measures that could include angled parking on surrounding streets, esp Walter Reed Dr, 9th St S, and Highland St (convert to one-way).

NEW PARKING (on-site):  The very last option that I could support would be constructing very expensive, permanent parking underground at the CC.  However, if all of the above failed to accommodate truly needed parking, I would be compelled to support structured parking.  Frankly, I think this is unlikely to come to pass, but my mind is open, provided all the other options are fully explored.

My hope is that the only "machine" driving our decisions will be sound policy.  I appreciate you feel worn down.  I think that speaks to your passion and commitment, in honor of which, I have taken this time to share with you my thinking.

Thank you,

Erik Gutshall (he/him)
Vice Chair, Arlington County Board[/quote]

Let’s all go and park in front of Eric’s house.  He is a nut if he thinks a bunch of arlington boomers are going to agree “reasonable” parking is up to 1/2 mile from your house.[/quote]

So 5 year olds can walk up to a mile to get to school (according to APS) but grown adult teachers can't walk 1/2 mile from their car?  And plenty of people in this area don't get free parking right on site at their place of work.  Doesn't anyone else here work in downtown DC?  I realize there are better transit options downtown, but the vast majority of DC workers still drive every day.  They just pay to park in garages near-ish their offices or get lucky and find a spot on the street.

tl/dr: Why is Gutshall's email a big deal?  [/quote]

Because providing ZERO on-site parking for a site with 2400 students in a small neighborhood bookended on the other end by a community center and 1800 additional students plus staff would create a traffic NIGHTMARE.  On-site parking doesn't have to be free - you can charge staff to park.  But let's face it:  [b]how many 5 year olds in reality are actually walking one mile to and from school?  or even 1/2 mile to and from school?  EVERY day, rain or shine, snow or wind?  [/b]

And what about visitors?  and users of the public library?
[/quote]

Very few, I'm sure.  But we as a county have accepted the 1-mile marker as a measure of "walkability" because busing is expensive.  We had to draw the line somewhere in the name of fiscal responsibility, so we drew it there even though it's not realistic for those actual students and their families.  Building extensive parking at the CC site would be very expensive, so the line might be drawn at asking teachers to park in nearby garages or on neighborhood streets.  Is that an ideal situation?  Nope.  But neither is asking kindergartners to "walk" a mile to school every day.  This is the reality in Arlington in 2020.  There are no perfect options.  [/quote]

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