"I just think folks are going to have to agree to disagree on the parking issue, which is why were looking at a parking district," Wedgeworth says. "We think that's a viable option to deal with their issues. Folks need to remember, public parking is public. Even though some of the neighbors are upset about people parking in their neighborhood, it's public parking."
Walstrom and Greg Holle, head of the commission that advises the city on parking, believe that all the holes in a proposed parking management district can be filled before the new zoning is actually implemented -- in about a year, if the city council passes the plan.
Mark Manger
Mark Manger
Block party: Jen Garner (from left) hosts Quin Wright
and Marcia Welk during happy hour on the porch of
her house on the 1400 block of St. Paul Street.
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"Most cities are starting to appreciate that parking is a part of that puzzle instead of this separate thing that sits out there on its own," Holle says. "It's a good tool for us to manage our transit solutions. The more ubiquitous we make free parking, the more we facilitate people's ability to use the single-occupant vehicle. If that's the long-term strategy that you think leads to a successful city and community, then you need to facilitate that by making parking king and satiate parking demand at the expense of all else. That's the effect of the B4 zoning we've been living with.
"Usually with parking, we just talk about increasing the inventory, and in a lot of cases that may be a solution," he continues. "But in some cases, the solution may be better utilizing the current inventory. If you take Cherry Creek North, which has a perceived parking problem, if you look beyond the on-street stuff and look at the off-street stuff, there is a lot of off-street parking, but it's owned by private folks. And someone who is parking rich doesn't know the guy who is parking poor, and they can't make a deal because there is no mechanism for that communication. Parking management can facilitate that and consummate the transaction. Denver is just on the cusp of appreciating that, and change feels good for some folks, and it doesn't feel good for other folks."
For Quin Wright, who has lived in Congress Park for ten years, change feels just fine. He's excited about the new zoning and what it could mean for his neighborhood. He has just one request: "Why doesn't everyone just clean the crap out of their garages and park in them? You can't bitch about not being able to park in front of your house when you choose not to use your garage."
Two weeks ago, Jones had to walk a block from her car to her front door. It was only the second time she'd had to do that since moving to St. Paul Street. She has a garage, but it's filled with stuff. "Calum was fast asleep, and I had a car full of groceries and a whiny Max, and I thought, 'This sucks.' But give me a couple of days a week like that and the development happening, and I'll take the tradeoff," she says. "Any one of us would rather have a hard time finding parking than being able to park anywhere we want and having drug dealers and hookers populating the neighborhood. We cannot control every variable. We have to have faith in the urban organism that is developing. We are at a critical juncture, and if this gets held up or squashed, it's nothing short of a tragedy for Denver.
"But then again, I'm not a South City Park resident," she continues. "I get their gripe. It's completely legit. They are landlocked, there is no management system in place, and, yes, they're being overrun, but that's not a reason to throw the baby out with the bathwater. I think maybe if it were easier to cross Colfax, the issue would be lessened. There are five blocks between crosswalks, yet there are 20,000 people in Congress Park with a huge amount of disposable income who want to get across the street to spend their money. Colfax needs to be a zipper connecting our neighborhoods, not a barrier."
Until recently, Jones and the boys regularly crossed to the north side of the street to visit their father, who owned Red Door Resale at St. Paul and Colfax. And although Abeywickrema recently closed the shop -- he just didn't have time for it, since he also owns a moving company, is a contractor, and exports paint and computers to Sri Lanka -- the family still regularly goes to ArmAzem for treats. Good thing Jones went to Manual: Learning to move her booty was good training for getting across Colfax.
"Rise, rise, shake your hips and move your thighs. You wanna see, you wanna see, see Colfax come alive. Do it!"
