Malcontent

Finding the Right Spot

Myths and realities of the so-called “parking problem” Downtown

Posted

I can always tell when the person I’m making plans to meet Downtown doesn't live in Providence, and probably doesn’t spend much time here. The telltale question of a non-city person is this: “Where should I park?”

Not only does this tell me that the person is unfamiliar with the geography of our rendezvous point, and therefore any parking options in the vicinity, but it also betrays a lack of understanding of how parking in a city works. Does this person think I can direct them to a specific spot? Do they think that I have a selection of parking spots on reserve? Are they under the impression that I can predict which spaces will be available at any given point in the day? If you’ve ever tried to park... well, really anywhere ever, then you should recognize that the question “Where should I park?” is fairly open-ended and difficult to answer. On the street. Wherever you can find a spot. Look for a place where there isn’t already a car – park there. Those are really the only answers I can come up with for that question.

I say this not to mock those who are inexperienced with navigating our city streets, but rather to dispel a common misconception about Providence: namely, that it has a parking problem. Providence doesn’t really have a parking problem – or at least not the one you think. (More on that later.)

The “parking problem,” as people often gripe, is that it is difficult – nigh, impossible – to find a place to park Downtown. In fact, it’s what prevents people from coming Downtown more often – or so the common wisdom goes.

Downtown Providence encompasses an area of 0.51 square miles. Within that, there are 1,500 on-street spaces, and an additional 15,000 in lots and garages. That’s roughly one parking spot per every 917 square feet. Now granted, if you’re averse to walking almost 2/10 of a mile from your car to your destination, that might pose a predicament, but for most of the rest of us blessed with two working legs, it should not be a problem. The city is not the suburbs. Every destination does not have its own convenient parking lot right outside the door. You may have to walk a few blocks to get where you’re going. I’m willing to wager that you’ll arrive safely. (The danger that lurks in Downtown is another common misconception that we won’t get into here.)

I’d venture to say that I make more trips Downtown than most, and I generally have no difficulties in finding a place to park – and believe me, there aren’t any bonus spots that open up to you when you get your frequent visitor card stamped. Granted, on a WaterFire night or some other unusually busy occasion, it may be a pain in the ass, but for the most part, it’s a simple matter of making a couple of passes and then walking a handful of blocks. And I’m only drawing from the 1,500 on-street spaces, because I refuse to pay for a lot or garage. (It’s not that I’m particularly frugal, as my bank statements can attest – it’s just the principle of it.)

Now I am willing to admit that there is a problem with parking downtown: the meters. Among the hundreds of metered spaces Downtown, there is a confusing, seemingly arbitrary jumble of traditional meters, high-tech meters that accept coins or credit cards, multi-space meters that accept either only coins or only credit cards – often on the same street. There is no rhyme or reason to their placement, a confounding lack of consistency and a veritable Whitman’s Sampler of unhelpful signage to (mis)direct you. On a recent trip Downtown in the pouring rain, I was fortunate to find a space right outside my destination, only to spend several minutes getting soaked as I fruitlessly deposited coins in the multi-space meter, which repeatedly flashed the message “coin error” as it rejected perfectly legal US quarters. I then had to get back in my car, drive further away to find a traditional meter that wouldn’t make any errors in accepting my coins, and get even more drenched as I sprinted to my now more distant destination. While I reject the notion that “Where do I park?” is a legitimate or fair question to ask when traveling Downtown, I think anyone trying to park upon arrival is fully within his or her rights to beseech, “How the f!%* does this work?”

malcontent, john taraborelli, providence, parking, meter, providence monthly, parking downtown, parking in providence

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