They were the mechanical advance guards of a larger city plan to have paid parking on Park Place, Washington Avenue and W. Richmond Ave.
That kerfuffle is over.
The kiosks have been yanked out.
And Point Richmond Business District parking is returning to what passes for normal.
But that normal might not last very long.
The Shea Homes Shoreline development of 60 homes on Seacliff Drive is under construction.
The 200-unit Quarry residential project off Seacliff (near Canal) is close to getting a city green light.
And the Terminal One behemoth wedged between Miller-Knox Regional Park on Dornan Drive and the Richmond Yacht Club on Brickyard Cove Road may eventually break ground for 300-plus homes.
A conservative guess would be that the Point Richmond community population will swell by at least 1,200 people when these new housing projects come online.
And most - if not all - of these news residents will have at least one motor vehicle of some kind. Many, of course, will have two, perhaps more.
If you think it's hard to find parking in Point Richmond today, imagine a tsunami of new residents jockeying their cars (or trucks!) for a choice spot near the public library, the markets, other businesses or the coffee shops on Park Place.
It would be comforting to think that the City of Richmond planners have thought this all through and have a secret plan to deal with traffic and parking from the new developments.
Comforting, but don't count on it.
The city declined to even require some minor citizen-suggested safety measures for Seacliff Drive that would have mitigated traffic impacts related to the Quarry residential project.
And the confusing debacle over the just-removed parking kiosks isn't very reassuring either.
Perhaps it's time for the Point Richmond Neighborhood Council to take a strong leadership role on the issue.
A start might be to have a carefully moderated public forum at which residents could devise strategies for dealing with the anticipated influx of new neighbors, their motor vehicles and where said vehicles might park.
Would the city listen to Point Richmond residents' ideas on this?
You can bet a kiosk or two they will pay more attention after the events of the last few weeks.
Michael J. Fitzgerald
Good thoughts, Michael. One idea might be to use some of the underused space near downtown Point Richmond (I'm thinking specifically about the apparently disused railroad yard next to the new Point complex apartments) to construct a parking garage. The City could use the prospect of the extra tax revenue it will get from the new residents to pay for it. It's not clear to me that having paid parking will deter people from visiting the Triangle to go to the post office, have a meal, etc.; it will only annoy those who come.
ReplyDeleteGreat comments!
ReplyDeleteAbout a year and a half ago the PRNC approved "the Point"apartment plan that was not in compliance with the City of Richmond's General Plan. What might have been good planning would have been to follow the General Plan and encourage the Library and Fire house to move to this more civic center and provide more parking. We on the Design Review Board tried to encourage the owners of that parcel to conform to the General Plan, but the PRNC came to the meetings in force and demanded that the GP was flawed and what the point wanted was more housing....so despite the well intentioned City of Richmond's planning staff, we in the point got what we deserved, and that is how democracy works....Michael, The point did take a strong stand and confronted the city! and the CITY listened! We on the board heard your voices and your collective and sometimes angry outbursts, and allowed a development that was not part of the long term planning that the city is required to uphold....
Just thought I should mention this.......
Cheers,
Jonathan Livingston, City of Richmond Design Review Chair.
Thanks for the background. That apartment complex approval predates my arrival on scene. There are two puzzling things about it, though. First, I am surprised the city didn't suggest that specific site for a parking structure. True, it would not have been historic or particularly pretty. But it would have solved a problem that the city should have seen coming - and done something about. Second, I keep hearing from people that just constructed Point apartment complex was conceptually sold to the public as 'affordable,' housing. Yet I can't find any paper trail.
DeleteWe never saw any documents nor did we hear any discussions regarding the apartments being affordable. The site in question was a site that the City's General Plan had labeled as an "arrival node". There were many possible uses that it could have been. One of the better interpretations of this arrival node was the introduction of a concept that would try to replicate the downtown square of Mill Valley.( with Parking) To do this required a vision and a unified citizenry. The General Plan laid the ground work for this; However the property rights of the property owner governed here. The Property owners organized the community and had them support the project. That is called manufacturing consent- and that my dear friend is how democracy works today.
DeleteKeep writing and giving the people a voice! you do a great service to all of us!
Cheers,
Jonathan