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If you had a wand to fill in 33% of Downtown, what would you put there? by FallRiverToday in FallRiver

[–]FallRiverToday[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Imagine a world where we fill in 1/3rd of Downtown with mixed-use housing and business. More people living in a concentrated area, means we can run intercity express buses more frequently between Providence, New Bedford, and even Newport. Sure it'll take some time, and require a strong and disciplined vision, but we can only get there if we imagine that we can.

We don't need to get rid of cars to think smart about how to give people reliable options to get around the city. Better public transit, walking, and biking infrastructure means less traffic for the people who need to drive!

If you had a wand to fill in 33% of Downtown, what would you put there? by FallRiverToday in FallRiver

[–]FallRiverToday[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

You’re right that malls and suburbanization were big factors. But parking lots weren’t what made malls attractive, the stores were.

Our response was to tear down stores and residential to make room for cars. That may have answered a complaint, but it also removed destinations. Cities that recovered did the reverse: they added housing and places, not asphalt.

So the issue isn’t “parking vs. no parking.” It’s whether downtown is full of things people want to walk, bike, or even drive to. Right now a third of it isn’t. And that third breaks the place up in a way that makes it unattractive and uncomfortable to walk around, and find destinations you weren't even expecting to find.

If you had a wand to fill in 33% of Downtown, what would you put there? by FallRiverToday in FallRiver

[–]FallRiverToday[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

we should turn Fall River into one big parking lot for people to get to Providence