Shockoe Parking Fun
Anyone who’s looking to drive down to Shockoe might want to think about taking the bus:
The city is now enforcing a no-parking restriction from 4:00pm until 3:00am on Main Street, from about 200 feet west of South 17th Street to South 21st Street. A spokeswoman for the department of public works says it will ensure better access for fire trucks and ambulances.PAY for parking. And they’re building this in a lot that used to be free parking. Nice.CBS 6 asked the spokeswoman about the impact it will have on the already hectic parking situation in that area. She claims a new pay-parking facility is being built, which will provide the area with about 100 extra spaces.
From the city’s press release:
The tow-away zone will ensure needed access for emergency vehicles and minimize cruising activities along this portion of E. Main Street.Cruising activities? No it won’t. You just opened it up for more of that.
The city sees an opportunity to make some money (or whoever’s contracted to run the new parking does) and an already rough parking situation is now being made even worse. Did the businesses have any input on this? Did they support this? Or is this going to drive people away? Guess time will tell.
April 29th, 2007 at 8:45 pm
I’ve given up going there about a year ago. Too much hassle, too much trouble. The city is making the same mistake with Shockoe Bottom as they did with Downtown and 6th St. Market place - making the parking so prohibitive and expensive that one might as well stay near one’s own neighborhood, in my instance the Fan and Carytown. Why pay $6/hour for parking when it is free in places that are safer and easier to get to?
Short sighted, stupid, and dumb.
April 30th, 2007 at 3:49 pm
I lived in Shockoe Bottom for 4 years. I loved it and walked everywhere. Having recently left for the burbs, I now understand what everyone else has known for years, parking sucks in Shockoe Bottom. It’s very frustrating driving around blocks and blocks and blocks. Then, when you realize you may have found a spot, it is not marked well and I am left wondering if I’m parked legally or not. Something must be done. Can the empty lot at 14th and Main be turned into a free lot after 7pm? Or on the weekends? It is left unused nights and weekends.