12-21-2018, 11:53 AM
It would be a bit hilarious if we could block developments because they didn't conform to the aesthetic of a century-old neighbourhood from the time of streetcars and horse-drawn carriages, but we couldn't have any aesthetic say over bending over backwards to decorate the front of a house with six SUVs.
I think that even a nominal fee and permitting system has some advantages, being that it forces people to expect rules and regulations more, and it is easier to remove something that is being permitted than something that is free, so that if you wanted to remove half the street parking on a given street, it wasn't that one side was losing "their" parking and the other wasn't, it was that half as many permits were going to be sold, and you had to deal with prices going up, but could buy the permits nonetheless. That also makes it easier to stop selling permits on one side in the event you need to widen a road for more cars or bikes or whatever, because you are reminding people that the property line doesn't start at the curb.
I think that even a nominal fee and permitting system has some advantages, being that it forces people to expect rules and regulations more, and it is easier to remove something that is being permitted than something that is free, so that if you wanted to remove half the street parking on a given street, it wasn't that one side was losing "their" parking and the other wasn't, it was that half as many permits were going to be sold, and you had to deal with prices going up, but could buy the permits nonetheless. That also makes it easier to stop selling permits on one side in the event you need to widen a road for more cars or bikes or whatever, because you are reminding people that the property line doesn't start at the curb.