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!

The Importance of City Planning

Ancient civilizations remained isolated for generations, relying only upon the vast expanse of what was above them for spiritual guidance and a subconscious knowledge that they were not alone. Global monumental construction became commonplace, and erecting megaliths became a statement by many technologically advanced peoples; that is, that they were here and that they had a purpose. Since the beginning of time, people have utilized construction methods as a means of communication. Whether it is for religious, ceremonial, or astronomical objectives, leaving physical legacies for future generations has been a central goal for humanity and a means of allowing connections through communication, thereby dissolving their social isolation.


Ruins of Sacsayhuaman

Urban design and city planning are not recent concepts. They have advanced over thousands of years into organized thought-processes that can lead to purpose-driven development and sustainable economic and social communities. There are many facets to this field and even encompass the realms of ecology, sociology, economics, urban geography, and law. City planning programs at universities are so vast and students must specialize in such fields as economic development, environmental planning and systems, geographic information systems, land and community development, land use planning, transportation, and urban design.

As I have begun to research for the McDonough Square, concepts of different forms of transportation in cities have caught my attention. The south metro area of Atlanta is growing too fast for the department of transportation to maintain roads and by the time new roads are built, construction takes so long that they simultaneously become obsolete. Typically thought of as having the worst traffic in the country, a recent study has found that Atlanta traffic is the 10th worst. Seeing as it took me 2 and a half hours to get to work yesterday, I cannot imagine a more worse commute. A blog I have been reading focuses on transportation around the country though he has not had a post about Atlanta traffic which I am kind of surprised about.




McDonough Square

In order to be successful, a commercial, business, and residential center needs to have some sort of anchor store such as a Starbucks in order to attract people in the first place. Ultimately, placing local McDonough or other Georgia-based businesses on the square would be ideal, but people are not extremely trusting of and confident in new stores initially. Attending school in Athens at UGA for the past 4 years has provided me with a great example of how a downtown can thrive. In fact, Athens has one of the oldest, economically sustainable downtown areas in the country and it most certainly has the University to thank for that. Now, since there is not a major University in McDonough it cannot rely on just people in their late teens and early twenties for profit. But since the majority of people living in McDonough are 24 to 45 it has good potential for a classy nightlife scene. Opening up a small theatre music venue, and cinema much like Cine in Athens would be a good option to extend the hours by which the McDonough Square is profitable.

Restaurants are another big factor when planning a downtown area and since exits off the interstate have their fair share of chain restaurants, choosing restaurants that offer unique dining is key. One such restaurant is Mirko which has locations in Athens, Watkinsville, Monroe, Buford, Peachtree City, and Macon. This is a counter service pasta restaurant where customers choose their pasta and sauce a la carte. It is interactive, priced well, has a great atmosphere, and is very good quality with a menu that changes seasonally. I believe that it would be a great addition to any downtown area. Figo in metro and downtown parts of Atlanta is very similar, though I believe that Mirko one ups it.


Bliss Cupcakes

The McDonough Square is not all bad, however. An awesome cupcake shop called Bliss opened about a year ago and is doing great! It began as just a wedding cake bakery and then began serving cupcakes and other baked goods at the front of the store in order to attract customers shopping for the day. The interior is very well-designed, completely executed by the owner who is a business major passionate about baking, with a French boutique look split into three sections: the bakery front with seating, a small shop in the middle where you can buy baking products and unique accessories to make cakes look like how you see them on tv, and the bakery in the back. Though it closes at 5 and is not open on the weekends, the shop is definitely the hero of the square. Hopefully more local businesses can open up and thrive, but as Bliss displays it needs an owner who has an economic and business background who knows what he/she is doing.

Next to it, however, is another cupcake bakery. That zoning conclusion astounds me, but that is for another post on a less cynical day.