Fan District and West Avenue Associations propose more parking restrictions
The parking restrictions first reported in late December (green on the above map)(and listed on the FDA site) have apparently been expanded. A flyer being shared details an expansion of the 1-hour-only zone to include more of Park Avenue, Hanover Avenue, and a section of Harvie Street (red on the map above).
4 major points here:
1) Extended 1 hour parking til Midnight on weeknights
2) NEW 1 hour parking only from 7am to midnight on WEEKENDS
3) They want to expand this to rest of the Fan zones and if they can get these areas approved with no one noticing, what’s to stop the rest?
4) Renters aren’t allowed to buy guest passes
If there is only 1 hour parking in the Fan until MIDNIGHT on weeknights and (even worse) all day and to midnight on the WEEKENDS, then say goodbye to all the wonderful restaurants, the First Fridays art walk on Main and other commerce that happens there (Heritage, Balliceaux, Page Bond Gallery, Glave Kocen Gallery, Reynolds Gallery, Garnett’s, Bellytimber, Kuba Kuba, other galleries, shopping, etc).
Not to mention it is absolutely offensive and paternal of them to say that those who rent (who aren’t allowed to purchase guest passes) are basically never allowed to have visitors for longer than an hour at a time.
This is an urban area. If those who made this happen don’t like having neighbors and living in an urban area (shared sidewalks, streets, parking, and sound), then they need to move to the suburbs, a farm, or a gated community where they might actually have a vote on these things. But I find it ludicrous that a few, well-heeled, moneyed, connected, out of touch, people get to decide the rules for an entire neighborhood, which is full of all kinds of people (and that’s one of the things most of us like about it). There are renters, and owners, and commercial. It’s a neighborhood. It’s not just their house. I have lived in the city of Richmond for 10 years. I love it here. I frequent the fan and local establishments all the time. This bothers me so much.
[...] Fan District Association and West Avenue Improvement Association have persuaded the City to increase parking restrictions on select blocks of the Fan due to complaints of inadequate parking from residents. The [...]
I agree with the above. This is absolutely inane. This is an attempt to for the wealthy in the Fan to protect their parking spaces at the expense of others and at the expense of the neighborhood (whether they know it or not). The renter provision is particularly offensive. This is an example of unethical and exclusionary zoning.
I agree with the above two comments, the question is, what can be done about it??