Surface parking lots are the utter bane of downtown living, which is obvious if you walk near one. But our fair city hasn't done enough to stop the creation of more of them and doesn't seem to grasp the harm they do.
This week a developer tore down these houses on King Street to enlarge the surface parking lot there. Just this past week he tore down three on Market street, the back side of the same lot. This is Market Street, our town's Main Street. While the Mayor's office is paying attention to rebranding the 200-600 blocks of Market Street as LoMa for Lower Market Street and the 600 to 1000 blocks are also receiving Historic District status, the rest of Market Street towards the Brandywine River is being neglected.
The truth is there is ample parking already downtown and no need for this lot. Some of the parking is not visible; it's in garages and that's how it should be. But the rest of the parking is very visible because it is on ugly surface lots which ruin the urban fabric, decrease the vitality of neighborhoods and cut them off from downtown. People don't like to walk near them or live near them. The developer's true intentions are to rip down buildings incrementally until an entire city block has been amassed, and then sell to a developer for a high-rise. If the lots sit vacant for two decades in the meantime, that's too bad for you and everyone else who is working for a livable downtown.
Put up better signs for garages so the suburbanites can find them, invest in decent transit, and stop the madness of wasting the city on empty parking lots owned by land speculators. No more surface lots! No demolition for parking!
Imagine a beautiful, livable city. Imagine a city you would like to visit. It's about people, it's about activity, it's about vibrancy. It's not cars in lots.
The City of Wilmington Department of Planning tells me that there is a part of the City's code which prohibits the creation of more surface lots in the downtown design district. The developers are seeking a variance to this ordinance and are threatening to leave the lots a pile of rubble if they don't get their variance. Oh, I get it black mail! I guess we should all start tearing down our houses now. We can always apologize later.
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