YMCA Traffic Study Recommends More Parking
A month or so ago, University Park officials voted to fund a traffic examination, municipal mumbo-jumbo that essentially means “peer review.”
The review was for the Park Cities YMCA’s traffic study, a study that’s been attacked by neighbors from both sides of Preston Road, and questioned by the City Council. Well, the results are in, and it doesn’t look like anyone will be happy.
The review — conducted by Freese and Nichols — doubts some of the Y’s usage assumptions, and recommends additional underground parking:
The resulting parking assessment increases the peak parking demand on a very busy day at the PC YMCA to about 330 spaces, 71 more than the 259 in the DeShazo report.
This is troubling for both sides. On one hand, it’s incredibly expensive to build underground parking garages. The additional 71 spaces could (would?) make the project economically unfeasible. From the neighbors’ perspective, they don’t want any additional cars, and the F and N report indicates they might get even more than they expected.
The City Council will review the study at Tuesday’s meeting, where the public hearing on the Y will continue. Check out the whole report for yourself, below:
What a yellow rag. the MSNBC of the park cities
The traffic report should not be a big surprise to anyone. The proposed Y building is just too large. A big, new facility like the one they propose looks nice, but the reality is that will draw many more people and cars than any of us can imagine. The intersection of Preston and Normandy will become a huge bottleneck, affecting both north and south-bound traffic. I love the Y but can’t they find another location (like the vacant lot at Lovers and Lomo Alto?) that can better accommodate the traffic? One of the guiding principles of the City of UP’s master plan is to ‘preserve and enhance neighborhood character.’ UP needs to limit commercial development and focus on preserving and enhancing the neighborhood for its taxpayers.