Letter to the Editor - Barking for Parking

Join the community of savvy subscribers (for free)! Get the latest updates, tips, and insider information by subscribing to the free newsletter today. Dear Editor, I have heard from several people regarding the city council recently voting to not approve the site plan for the new Decorah elementary school. Some in support of our position, but others questioning why we would do such a thing, that would slow up this process. There were several reasons the City Council voted to reject the site plan. They included excessive parking, too little green space, hard to access a pathway through the site, lack of accessibility for students and parents walking and biking to school, etc. Let me focus on just one of those reasons: Excessive parking. Why is the city so concerned about the amount of parking spaces at an elementary school? Let me explain. Currently in this country we have 8 parking spaces for every vehicle that is on our roadways. Let me repeat that, 8 parking spaces for every vehicle!! That seems almost unbelievable but let me explain how that has happened. Cities have allowed malls, shopping centers, big box stores, athletic venues, and yes, schools, to build parking for the maximum needed at their busiest times. That means for a mall, for the 3 or 4 weeks before Christmas, the parking lot may be mostly full of shoppers' vehicles. However, the other 11 months it will sit ¼ to ⅓ full. Also, for ⅓ of every day they sit completely vacant when the mall hours are closed. Why is this a problem? Asphalt parking lots are impermeable surfaces. That means they contribute greatly to the amount of stormwater runoff. This is especially problematic for a city that sits in a bowl, which was formerly a river bed. Someone has to pay for the cost of maintenance and upkeep on those parking areas. These parking areas also contribute greatly to the warming of our cities. This is in turn a large contributor to climate change. So, this addiction to more and more parking is unsustainable. This wasn't the city council trying to be a thorn in the side of the school district or us trying to exert our power and influence over another government organization. It was the process of getting the best site plan for a school in the middle of our wonderful city. There are currently 22 parking spaces at the John Cline School. The original site plan was designed with 111 parking stalls and we ended up with 86 parking spots on the compromised plan. The city code requires an elementary school to have a parking stall for every employee plus an additional 10. This will accommodate the 53 full time employees at the current school plus an additional 11 for the employees at the West Side School, an additional few spots for part time employees plus the additional 10 required by city code. Thus 86 is a good compromise for the parking at the new school. It is imperative that cities utilize the parking that currently exists in their cities instead of allowing more and more parking to continue to be built. We need to utilize the parking in the areas around the new school as much as possible. That is how the process works. The School Board looking out for the best interests of the students and the staff and the City Council looking out for the best interests of the city and its residents. No one was wrong, they were each just doing the job they were elected to do. That is a good thing. Remember, parking is good, excessive parking is not! I hope this explains how this process needs to work and why limiting parking to the minimum is so important. If anyone has further questions feel free to reach out to me, or others, on the City Council. Kirsten Olson, Decorah City Council Stand up for what you believe in—your letter could spark change in our community.