Innovative Parking Ideas

Upon further evaluation of why the McDonough Square cannot sustain itself I have concluded that it is because of the inconvenience of the parking. McDonough was not created to be a walkable community whatsoever and public transit has not trickled down to Henry county yet, mainly because of politics. I have a feeling any sort of bill proposing any sort of mass transit in McDonough, i.e. MARTA, trolleys, trains, large buses, will not occur in the near future, if ever, so now we are forced to work best with what we are given. If you are interested, this is an interesting proposal of a conservative pro-transit stance of how transit benefits everyone, even non-riders. Cars are the most convenient, affordable forms of transportation that provide the greatest amount of freedom. If mass transit was not provided, in even the small form that it is in Atlanta, then more cars would definitely be on the road. Cheap cars are very easy to find and with gas prices on average $.40 lower in the suburbs than downtown more people would buy cars who normally ride public transit, even if they could not necessarily afford to do so.

Still, with public transit not an immediate option, I have been researching innovative parking solutions that are being implemented around the world. One solution that a company is offering called Urban Parking Concepts LLC by creating buildings dissimilar to parking garages in the fact that humans do not drive their cars into designated spots, yielding more efficient use of space. As technology progresses, this concept could become a great solution to urban areas that rely on cars as their main mode of transportation. A similar implementation in Germany is an innovative way to store VW's at the Volkswagon factory. Unfortunately, designs such as these are too modern for McDonough, which takes pride in its local charm and history, not to mention financially impossible.




Volkswagon Parking Garage

Seeing as how the McDonough Square strives to attract people of all ages, with local restaurants, antique shops, bakeries, and businesses, a parking garage is not the best option because, truthfully, people 60+ are statistically scared of parking garages and/or getting parking tickets. It's true, just ask my grandmother. Also, older people are less likely to walk into a downtown area because of health reasons. The ungodly heat index that surrounds Atlanta in the summer and frigid winters that just keep getting longer are other reasons supporting why walking into a city is not feasible if the square wants to attract the most people as possible.


Atlantic Station

Atlantic Station, a residential and commercial community located off the 17th bridge in Atlanta (which is a Georgia Tech MCRP grad creation, btw) is a great example of utilizing parking to the fullest. Though the parking meters in front of the stores are ridiculous overpriced ($.05 a minute!) the free, 2-hour underground parking is successfully innovative. It offers 7,300 parking spaces across the entire propertyw with the majority of the spaces being underground. However, Atlantic Station is catered to 18-35 year olds who enjoy name-brand shopping, fine cuisine, and a sophisticated nightlife. With condos between the downtown area and IKEA, Atlantic Station is a great addition to the city and is a case study I am using for research.


Detroit Theatre Parking

One solution that I feel could be implemented in McDonough is an accidental parking creation in Detroit. After decades of disuse, Detroit's Michigan Theater is now a glorified parking lot. While some might argue that it is unfortunate it's come to that, the fact that it is still standing and has some sort of function is a success story in and of itself. This solution ultimately saved it from destruction. In fact, one of the reasons the theater was forced to close was because it's lack of parking. Oh the irony! However, that could be the same fate of stores in McDonough and I am hoping that I can propose a solution that will not come to that. Therefore, I think that creating a parking lot using a building's exterior as the shell could begin to scratch the surface of bringing functional parking created for an intentional purpose to the square's perimeter. Using buildings located on
View Larger Map">Macon St. and Hwy. 42 could be an aesthetic solution to this problem. By ultimately doubling the square footage of the buildings by constructing multiple stories on existing structure provides easy re-locations to these businesses.

Any suggestions or comments on this idea or any others is greatly appreciated!