Downtown Palm Springs is getting a host of new restaurants, shops, and hotels – hence all of the construction – but, comically, one thing that the downtown area is not getting: enough parking to accommodate the actual customers.
The projects will see 900 public parking spots added at the former site of the Desert Fashion Plaza. Another 300 parking spots will also be added in the area for hotel and residential guests. And even though construction is underway, The Desert Sun reports that only now are city officials even discussing the parking situation with the public and downtown merchants:
However, city officials are now questioning if 900 public parking spots will be an adequate number to accommodate what could be dozens of new shops and restaurants, along with the activity generated by the many other businesses surrounding the redevelopment site. Also, the 155-room Kimpton hotel, which is under construction, does not have dedicated parking, and its guests will use the public garage spaces, officials say.
“I don’t think there’s enough parking to support the hotel rooms, private residences and 11 restaurants. I don’t think that’s anywhere close to what we need,” Mindy Reed, who operates restaurants Zin American Bistro and Alicante in downtown, flatly told the Palm Springs City Council on Wednesday. The council met at the Palm Springs Convention Center for a special meeting known as a “study session,” to discuss the redevelopment and the proposed amendments and changes to the Museum Market Plaza Specific Plan, the over-riding document guiding the development.
City officials even admit that the new projects are really not up to code, with councilman Chris Mills (an architect) saying in the meeting, “If you parked it per ordinance, we’d probably have 2,500 spaces, which means we’d have multi-level parking structures in that area, which I don’t think anybody really wants to see.”
Ohhhh, so they think parking structures are ugly. So instead, only 36% of the necessary parking will be made available. I can only guess that the city’s lack of any public restrooms must be because they are just hideous to look at too.
On a busy weekend or during events, parking in downtown is already a pain in the ass – and of course it is going to get much. much worse when all the new construction is finished.
But do not tell that to city officials, who are clinging to hope that somehow everyone will just change their habits:
Also, modern urban trends show an increased use of bicycles, public transit and ride-sharing services like Uber, Lauri Aylaian, director of the Palm Springs Community and Economic Development Department, told members of the Palm Springs Main Street group during its November meeting.
“What has really changed in the market has been the advent of things like Uber and Lyft,” Aylaian added of the popular ride-sharing services that operate similar to taxis. “Especially when a more intense downtown is created, people aren’t going to rent a car every time they come to come to Palm Springs to vacation.
Sure, that might happen. Also, and this is important, it being California and all, it probably won’t.
So, to recap: Downtown Palm Springs will not have enough parking spots because, 1) officials hope people in SoCal will actually ditch their cars and, 2) everyone would just find parking structures to look hideously grotesque.
I guess we should all just cross our fingers and hope that everyone is planning on taking the Buzz everywhere from now on.
Solid planning, Palm Springs.
