Parking
Parking on the east side is congested because we are a dense urban community. There are many benefits to density, and difficulty with parking is not one of them. Parking should always be a consideration as we consider approving new development. Density increases have to include consideration of how that density will affect existing residents and business owners. The RPP program in the UWM area is in its earliest stages and will require monitoring for ways to improve effectiveness, and evaluate is appropriateness as a model for other high-density parts of the district. Finally, parking needs are a by-product of insufficient public transit options. I will work to make public transit more widely available to decrease over-reliance on auto transit. As a regular bike commuter, I will find new ways for the City to promote and reward non-auto trips, which will ease the parking problems for everyone.
The issue of how the City has handled sale of parking lots is a major concern. Surface parking lots are rarely the best use of land. That said, selling them off to the lowest bidder is hardly sound public policy. I would work to expand land and site recycling that turn low-performing plots into property-tax producing entities, as has happened episodically in the Menomonee Valley and a few other places with safeguards that ensure the public interest is protected.