City Parking

So my new job I have to work in downtown Syracuse.  I know, downtown Syracuse is nothing like major cities.  Keep in mind that I have lived here all my life and never really had the desire to go anywhere else, especially a larger city.  But that leads to the problem that most cities in the United States have.  They were planned and laid out before the invention of cars.  More and more cities are having financial issues because they can't get people to shop, work, and/or live in the downtown area.  And what makes it worse is the fact that they can't figure out why.  Well, I'm here to let them know.



I have always had a hard time thinking it was a good idea to go to downtown Syracuse, pay $5 to park for 2 hours just to pay for more for the same item I can get at the mall without the parking fee.  These retailers are paying a premium, and higher taxes, just to be located downtown.  This premium has to come from somewhere and that would be the consumer.  Cities need to open their eyes and see that these parking rates are a big part of the problem.  If they could reduce these all that would be left would be to attract premium retailers.  Think about it, how many downtown areas of cities have premium retailers that aren't located outside the city in a mall that offers free parking?  Outside of New York City, I don't believe there are many.  And that is part of why downtown New York City works even with the parking rates.  There are premium retailers (like Macy's, FAO Schwartz, etc.) that aren't in a mall at the edge of the city.


But here in Syracuse, as seems the case with the few others I've seen, the major mall is at the very edge of the city.  It is still partially within the city limits but it certainly isn't downtown, and the parking is free.  There are a couple of other former malls that are also just outside the city with free parking.  I say former because they aren't the traditional closed roof mall anymore.  They have been transformed or rebuilt to be more of an over sized strip mall now.  But that isn't the point, the point is that these malls are where the major outlets are found.  So while the major one (Carousel Center in this case) is still bringing in some tax revenue to the city, it isn't bringing people downtown.  In fact, it is taking them away.


And this brings us to the outrageous fees for the parking.  If you decide on a lot that is in a shady area you can get a rather low rate.  Of course, you take a huge risk that your car will be broken into.  And there are the lots that are a long way from most employers.  Those have rather low rates also, but this is Syracuse that I'm talking about.  We average over 120 inches of snow each year.  Who wants to walk 10 blocks in a snow storm just to save a little money.  But back to the point!  The premium lots are a high price but for what reason?  It isn't like paving the lot once every 20 years costs that much.  And most of these lots are owned by the city so there isn't really any taxes on the property.  It isn't like you get some kind of protection for thieves with it, you park at your own risk!  So what do you get for your cash?  You rent one of the many spots that are in the lot.  The problem is that this spot isn't guaranteed to be there when you go to park.  They play a game by giving out more monthly passes than they should in hopes that people will go on vacation or perhaps forget that they have paid a lot of money for the renting of their space.


These cities need to take a real look at why they are failing financially, right down to things that prevent people from spending money where they make the most in taxes.  Provide cheaper parking and make their money by enforcing the rules of that parking.  Stop making up special events to get people to pay 1/3 of the value of the parking tickets they owe.  But I guess that is probably best left for another rant on another day...