After speaking to Portland residents and commuters, one thing that became very clear to me is the popular demand for better parking in Portland. Of the four people I spoke to, three had cars. All three of them cited the parking as an undesirable aspect of Portland. However, none of the people I spoke to seemed to be aware of any place to park except by the waterfront.
One of my earlier ideas was to increase signage in the city. Originally this was intended to educate the public on smart changes that occurred around them, especially in relation to public space. I still feel that signage is important— that there is power in simply pointing out in words what you want people to know. If parking is a problem, it is possible to acknowledge and address that in part with signs. There might be a physical need for more parking space, but there may also be a distribution problem that could be helped by the distribution of information. The city is so small that there might be a trove of parking within a ten-minute walk, which would be useful if people knew where to find it. Easy to read maps and signage would help tourists and locals alike to locate parking nearby.
Ideally, the small degree of satellite parking would also help Portland to transition to a walking city. In turn, the increase of walking could benefit the numerous sidewalk businesses, and help public spaces to thrive more as places to rest or eat lunch before returning to one’s car.
10:45
- Two people sitting with to go coffees chatting by window (Jen and Mark)
- Man behind me doing work with coffee to stay (Mr. Pince Nez, PN for short)
- He has very small, “cool” glasses
- Tweed jacket
- mid 50s
- cleft chin
- I think I just distracted him
- Woman in cool scarf and sweater walked out
- Bearded man in self-aware Canadian tuxedo just walked in
10:55
- Two women buying drinks (lime soda, coffee)
- A few people have walked by outside, usually quite casually/ no hurry
- One biker who looked like he was intently on his way somewhere
- Jen and Mark have been chatting with no sign of stopping
- I hope they will leave soon so that I can take one of their seats
- PN making a phone call
- Horse drawn city tour passing by (Stillbrook Acres, rides for all occasions)
- The vibe in here is really nice except that I feel so self conscious about essentially spying on people
- Florence + the Machine playing
11:05
- Jen: white female ~30 yo, wearing workout clothes, minimal but careful makeup. OMG she is so into him she literally laughs at everything he says.
- Mark: white male ~30 yo, wearing a very large watch
- A meet-up just occurred in another corner of the shop… “so how do you know le-ann?”
- White male, ~45, used the word “mate”
- White female, ~45-50. Holding macbook air. Son’s name is “Hawk”
- Both of them have sunglasses
- Discussing business venture?
- Woman runs past shop
- Many people in here/around are in workout clothing
- Somebody that I used to know
- Arcade Fire Wake Up
11:15
- Things seem to be picking up
- Business meetup is for web design of this woman’s non-profit (she started it)
- Hawk sat down right behind me
- A bit of a rush now, more people who appear less outwardly “cool” and are also not in workout clthers
- PN is leaving, looked at the WSJ on his way out
- More car traffic outside
- Lots of people come in and use the bathroom (at lease 5 while I’ve been here)
- I think they might be playing “I want it That way” (Lol it’s actually Albert Hammond Jr. In Transit)
- First kid came in, with dad (looks like he just needs to pee)
- People hanging out outside (3 people standing around chatting, seem to have dog with them)
- Jen and Mark have gotten comfy (damn, I want those chairs!)
11:25
- Jen and Mark left. Mark: “Shall I escort you home so that your students don’t jump you?” (he sounds like an asshole but she really didn’t seem to mind)
- I took their chairs (better view of the street)
- 5 people sitting at tables and chairs outside, w 2 dogs
- A lull in business, now
- Not sure what the song is, same feeling as the rest
- Have yet to see a person who doesn’t appear white—saw one black man outside
11:35
- Two people who look South-Asian (?) just walked in
- Many people here get coffee in to-go cups even if they end up sitting for a long time
- OMG such a cute golden retriever outside
- And a baby! Wow what cheeks
- Australian guy just sat down, complaining about it being Columbus Day because he wanted to mail a package and it’s a federal holiday (he and his American buddy couldn’t figure out what the holiday was, though)
- Cool old woman just walked in, did not hold door for young man coming in behind her
- Young folks playing, someone whistling along very poorly
11:45
- South Asian couple chatting at the counter, very friendly. She is in
- Another lull
- A different couple walked in, dressed very hip. She was on the phone. Wearing pink pointy flats and walking with a limp. Taking a long time and debating what to drink, chatting to barista and hugging while they choose
11:55
- Even more of a lull now
- Aussie and his friend Googled and figured out it was Columbus day
- “What would you rather be, intelligent or creative?”
- Business meet-up is still going on
- African American boy ~11 went by on his bike
- Two preppy white boys ~18 walked by
- Guy w a large clipboard ~27 walked by looking for something
- Car traffic consistent, probably ~1 car every 3-5 seconds at busy moments, with breaks in between
- Fair amount of bicycle traffic, certainly fewer than cars though
- Same music inside
12:05
- 3 old women now buying coffee
- Business meet-up is over, woman and her son still her
- Aussie and his friend working steadily (…on Facebook)
- Coffee grinding
- Calming, no-lyric music playing now
- Barista with bangs was totally unoccupied for like 5 minutes earlier, sat on her phone until people came in for coffee
- Not much to report on outside—this street is pretty quiet in terms of pedestrian traffic
12:15
- “I’m going to do… a coffee.” Odd phrasing in order by young woman now buying
- Old couple just walked in. Man wanted bathroom
- They appear to have a very unclear/confusing order
- Aussie now playing arcade game on his computer
- A lot of people use this space as a semi-public restroom
- Music has gotten a little more “rockin’”
12:25
- Several people/ groups in here ordering now
- Blond young man and woman (heavily made up)
- Slightly older (~25?) couple (man and woman) browsing coffee cups etc
- Two young “trendy” women, and an older trendy woman
- Very hot here now by window. I’ve already moved though so I’d feel a bit weird moving again. Wish they had some sort of shade or awning
- Chilled out guitar music
- Australian has switched computer games
- Continued unawareness of visible buttcrack
12:35
- Went up to get iced tea and almond croissant
- The pastries are definitely not their strong point but the drinks are great
- One of the baristas is gluten free
- Fashionista in a purple trenchcoat just came in and out
- Child (~10?) standing alone at counter… who is taking care of him?
- Ordered a hot chocolate, took it outside and crossed the street by himself
- Music has gotten more poppy, less acoustic
12:45
- Young woman (~16/17?) and ~6 year old girl in here now (sisters?)
- Large man (~40) ordering coffee
- Young woman (~25) in line
- Someone left a laptop on the counter
- Young woman with golden retriever working outside on laptop still
- 3 people browsing bagged coffee selection
- This almond croissant is pretty shit but I’ll probably eat the whole thing anyway
- Old woman in socks and sandals drinking tiny drink and writing on tiny notepad
- Adam Tice artwork on walls—fairly uninspiring acrylic paintings of different pieces of food and some other things (block o meat, cup of coffee, pickle, etc.)
12:55
- Tiny drink woman left
- Two men at counter, one using bathroom
- New longhauler is here, set up with her ipad near the counter. She has her own mug, it looks like
- More conversations noise and less music, now
- People still looking at coffee paraphernalia
- Young guy with messenger bag just came in
- Old woman on laptop in other corner
- There is a whole other side of this shop that I am not very connected to— 2 differentiated seating areas mean noise is well dispersed
- Woman walked by holding newly purchased broom—had walked to store
- Guy sat down opportunistically to read abandoned WSJ
1:05
- Used bathroom (key system to prevent surreptitious use)
- Nice, small, pleasantly dim bathroom
- Surprisingly, mirror has been defaced w/ word scratched into it: “EAIRZ” or similar, written in skinny graffiti script style
- Another young couple
- Another old man
- Aussie still playing comp games
- Music is more upbeat now
1:15
- More of same
- Two vaguely grungy high school girls came in to study the cooler of drinks
- Woman debating pastry choice like no other
- Flume bon iver
I really like the idea of a parking map. Whenever I drive into Portland, I often find myself wondering where the nearest parking is and whether there is any free parking nearby. I am curious as to whether there is any room for more street parking or lots. We did see some empty lots when we went on our initial tour of Portland. However, converting those empty lots into parking lots would not be the best allocation of that space. The lots could be turned into public space, commercial space, or residential. I believe all of those usages would improve residents’ well-being more so than a new parking lot could.
An alternative to creating more parking is to improve the walkability and bikeability of Portland, and/or improve the public transportation system. Steps to improve these forms of infrastructure would encourage people to leave their cars at home (or not even own one at all) and use alternative modes of transportation, thus lessening the demand for parking in the City. When people bike and walk rather than drive businesses are more likely to thrive because of increased foot traffic; people are healthier from increased exercise; and social capital develops more rapidly.
I agree that from my experience in Portland and much of what I have discussed in previous posts have to do with parking in Portland. An interactive map showing available spots would be extremely helpful and useful to those driving and looking for spots, as well as those walking or biking in the city who have to constantly avoid cars. Efficiently getting cars off the roads will increase the walkability of the city and cars will cause less of a disturbance. It is interesting that many of the suggestions you received with your maps had to do with parking – it is such a large part of everybody’s daily life and is rarely a positive experience. I think Portland could increase signage, as you suggested, to better label parking areas or better direct drivers to parking areas – to start off the parking initiative. Eventually, Portland could definitely benefit from a satellite parking map, although that is much more complex.
I like how you integrated your idea of signage to serve a need that you saw from your mental maps. Increased awareness about existing parking would be extremely helpful. Similar to Emma I am wary about the idea of creating new parking lots, because it is an expensive and uninspired use of rare space downtown. Ultimately this is a matter of public transportation. As it currently stands, Portland is a place you would navigate far distances by car. Increasing bike infrastructure and public transportation would absolutely decrease demand for parking. The satellite parking is a great idea, because it allows for people traveling from outer towns (like us) to make it into the city by car, but then not depend on the car to get around within the city itself.
Yes, parking is quite the struggle. Though something I’ve enjoyed about Portland is the walkability; you can do that Mainer thing where you cross the street whenever you want because there isn’t that much traffic most times of day. Philadelphia recently finished constructing bike paths that reach some 40 miles into the suburbs that lead into to the city, and hopefully Portland could do the same. It would be great to encourage bike commuters; not only does this save valuable space , but it helps the environment, creates an alternative way of experiencing the city, and attaches a goal to exercise.
I find it interesting that so many people commented on the parking in the city. In general, it seems that Portland’s transportation infrastructure is a bit lacking, whether that means parking spots, the bus line, walkability, or bike paths. How can Portland create abundant parking for those commuting into the city while also catering to pedestrians and bikers? I think Portland does a good job placing frequent and accessible sidewalks; however, more storefronts could have bike racks. And, a parking app could definitely be of use in Portland, especially since it’s a small enough city to actually map all the available lots. As you mentioned, signage is definitely useful. It directly addresses people and tells them where to go. Signage in combination with an accessible map of Portland could be really successful.