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Parking in Waterloo Region
(09-28-2016, 02:30 PM)clasher Wrote: As for the motorcycle I don't think it's a big deal, there doesn't seem to be anyone using the bicycle parking and most parking lots don't have motorcycle spaces, and even if they do people can knock over motorcycles with their cars if they aren't paying attention.

I would tend to agree here; happens all the time in Europe as well (and yes, we talked about parking on the sidewalk in Europe too). Sometimes there's separate motorcycle parking next to the bicycle parking. Mopeds park on the sidewalk all the time in Switzerland. But it's not as crowded as, say, Asia.
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I've noticed new signs on the Manulife parking lots. It looks like the have automated capacity indicators on the lots now telling you how many spaces are left:
   
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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(10-04-2016, 05:46 PM)Pheidippides Wrote: I've noticed new signs on the Manulife parking lots. It looks like the have automated capacity indicators on the lots now telling you how many spaces are left:

I saw those on the weekend, but didn't realize they were new. I guess I don't get it, but why would someone need to know how many spaces are available? Not Full/Full seems to be enough, or even Not Full/Almost Full/Full. Huh
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Heh, I've never thought of it that way before, but you're right. At other facilities where I've seen this, it's helpful to know what "deck" to head to. I.e. if Deck 2 has 3 spots open but Deck 3 has 100, you just go to Deck 3 knowing you'll save time rather than try to find one of the 3 open spots on Deck 2.

Maybe the vendor of the solution just offered a "One Deck" package with only one readout and they don't make a Go/No-Go light system.
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It's helpful there still, as you can go into one side or the other. From what I've seen the lot closer to King gets full faster, I've seen it displaying ~50 spots left, while right across Charles the other mirror(?) Manulife lot shows 200. It also helps me, as a non-employee, understand how much parking is in the downtown, and what kind of usage it's getting. When I do drive to somewhere like the Burlington or Oakville parking structures for GO, I find the level-by-level breakdown, and overhead spot lights, to be very helpful.
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I had no idea that the parking garages were open to the public. I always just assumed that they were used for employee parking.
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I'm pretty sure they're only open to Manulife employees, but you still don't want to drive into one that's full, and then a second one that's full, and finally have to go to the surface lot after wasting a bunch of time. I would think.
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Uptown BIA is requesting free parking and no time limit for the Christmas season. Staff are recommending free with no time limit in temporary lots A and B because last year the same proportion was not successful by their metrics (reduced turnover in parkade).
http://calendar.waterloo.ca/Module/Calen...8697dfc493 (page 39)
Everyone move to the back of the bus and we all get home faster.
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Quote:During the 2015 Christmas season, no charge parking without time restriction was provided in the Uptown Waterloo Parkade.  The provision of this no charge parking without time regulation was not successful and resulted in decreased turnover of parking spaces for the merchants of Uptown Waterloo. The location of Temporary Lot A and Temporary Lot B may lend itself to fewer issues

Uh.... isn't that exactly the expected result?

Well, I'm sure the staff at Uptown businesses will appreciate the new place to park for the day.
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Things that frustrate me: Today, I just received notice that the management corporation for the condo that I rent will now start enforcing that all parking spaces in the Kaufman Lofts surface lot can only be rented to other residents of Kaufman Lofts, and can only be rented using the management corporation as a middleman (e.g. taking a cut for services I don't want them to do). Without any cars, the two spots that came with my unit let me lower my rent by $200/month, and conversely allowed a pair of drivers to have parking spaces, inevitably lowering their costs while also freeing up supply.

This. Is. BS. I could perhaps understand it in an underground lot, but this is a surface lot.
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Renting? Kaufman is a condo (I lived there). Or are you renting from an owner, and THEN also trying to rent out your rented parking spots?
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I rent from an owner, and have rented out my spots to people who work nearby for over a year now. Fundamentally, I believe this is a huge waste of space - downtowns are built on the idea of parking being available to the best way it can be used, so as not to waste space. Personally, I don't want to see my rent pumped by hundreds of dollars.
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That’s amazing. I can understand their motivation for wanting to be the intermediary for parking space rentals (though I don’t think it’s justifiable). What’s the motivation for restricting the market to occupants of the building, besides artificially lowering the cost of parking for those residents who happen to have more cars?

Viewfromthe42, have you ever known residents to complain that they have to park their second or third vehicle at further-away lots because they can’t find one at the building’s lot?

You’re right that constraining the market this way results in inefficiencies that the density of downtown is supposed to eliminate. Plus, it increases rent for residents like you…all in all bad.
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I was told just now by my landlord not to worry about it, so I'll see if I get any complaints from the people renting my spots.

I occasionally see signs on our bulletin board saying spot wanted or spot for rent, but they come down quickly enough, as I'm guessing they either find a spot quickly through kijiji, or through management.

I could understand it if non-residents were granted access to common amenities by parking there, which would typically mean by parking somewhere requiring a fob or garage door opener. Even for places like that, I would push for an unassigned parking system, with a movable gate, such that you would have an access area from the street, and then another access panel to trigger between rented/paid spots. That way, you could see people segmenting between owner-occupied spots, rental spots, and/or pay-per-use spots, maximizing parking potential.
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(01-04-2017, 02:27 PM)MidTowner Wrote: That’s amazing. I can understand their motivation for wanting to be the intermediary for parking space rentals (though I don’t think it’s justifiable). What’s the motivation for restricting the market to occupants of the building, besides artificially lowering the cost of parking for those residents who happen to have more cars?

Viewfromthe42, have you ever known residents to complain that they have to park their second or third vehicle at further-away lots because they can’t find one at the building’s lot?

You’re right that constraining the market this way results in inefficiencies that the density of downtown is supposed to eliminate. Plus, it increases rent for residents like you…all in all bad.

Check the condo declaration, bylaws, and rules. I am by no means an expert in condominium law (or any law), but those might have something to say about the matter. Reading the Condominium Act might also be helpful — I don’t know what the condo corporation can and cannot do. Also keep in mind there could be a disconnect between what the owners at large, the Board, and Management want. Ultimately Management is hired by the Board who are elected by the ownership, and all must abide by the Act, Declaration, Bylaws, and rules (although all but the Act can be modified by the ownership and/or Board, with various procedures and voting thresholds required for changing different elements.
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