The Right to Park
This idea has come up time and time again and in a packed room last month we heard it echoed, yet again to Jay Rogers of PBOT.
"I should be able to park in front of my house that I pay for".
On the surface this is a simple, almost common sense statement. Almost. Yet the question remains. Is it your right as a homeowner to park in front of your house? The answer is technically no but opinions on the matter range widely and general consensus is something that is not easily attainable. Even if we worked to adopt a neighborhood parking program where each homeowner had access to a $70/year/car pass, what would stop the apartment dweller across the street that has no onsite parking from obtaining the same pass and parking in front of your house just the same?
Who and what exactly causes this problem? Everyone seems to have a different answer.
- It's the businesses on Mississippi who's employees park on and around the Avenue for a full day's length.
- It's the neighbor who converted their garage to an ADU and now parks on the street.
- It's all the night time visitors that flood our streets at happy hour and drink late into the night. ps. Someone puked on my lawn.
- It's Tri-Met who's pricing makes it difficult for the rainy day rider to get around in the bad weather without a standby vehicle.
- The City has allowed developers to do this with their zoning code.
We agree. The answer is yes to all of this. It's what makes the issue of residential parking so complex. Simply put, there is not enough parking for the amount of folks who want to live and visit here.
The BNA will continue to have dialogue and take a multi-faceted approach to the issue and will keep you updated. First we need to understand what our issue is. Once we become informed, we can take steps to relieve the pressure but probably never fully reign in parking as our city infills.
Caroline Dao
(BNA Chair)
