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With the loss of the downtown Florence parking deck and a long wait for its replacement, the City of Florence can expect parking problems. Now the police department has issued a press release telling would be violators their vehicles will be towed if parked on private lots owned by local businesses.
The population of Florence reached its peak in 2019. Since that time, the number of Florence citizens has shrunk by almost 1,000. So the downtown area may be "growing," but the city isn't. If the population isn't expanding, why is traffic downtown?
Forty years ago, perhaps even 30, you would have been hard pressed to find a place to eat on Court Street, especially after 5:00 p.m. Now the town's high street boasts more neon after dark than some Nevada communities. With these eateries comes alcohol. It's been well over a year since we've heard of any major problems resulting from alcohol sales downtown, but parking woes grow.
A manager at a local Subway told us months ago how difficult it was to keep the Court Street location's parking lot free from squatters. We can imagine it's even more so after the opening of Mugshots.
Solutions? We're thinking downtown businesses need to hire their own monitors to enforce non-trespassing on private property. At least it's one deterrent.
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A reader sent us a pithy thought on why the population of Florence is shrinking:
Maybe the exodus from Florence is driven by people with a burning desire to vote for the county Superintendent of Education?
I question who determines a vehicle is illegibly parking on a private space? Is it the owner of the spot or does the city? The reason I ask this is because I have customers who is not using their spots after their work hours is over, and don't mind if I park there at those times when I might be eating close by.
ReplyDeleteMany of us remember when the existing parking deck was built. Seems unreal that it is aging out. As an engineer I know there are many factors that go into a product or structure’s life, not the least being maintenance. There are too many examples such as the John Coffee Memorial Bridge on the Natchez Trace Parkway. The bridge is another example where the fix is long coming and expensive. On the other hand, I still support electrical equipment running since 1895.
ReplyDeleteA simple search on the Internet shows us an alternative, whether it be long term or short term. Many cities are moving to free public transport. I know Kansas City, Missouri is much bigger than Florence, Alabama but their streetcar is a fine example on how to spread out parking and solve many problems. It was not a very popular project at first, but now it is a big attraction.
We should admit that abandoning the streetcars that roamed the Shoals back in the early years was probably not as wise as we thought then. Having that transportation would obviously provide immediate relief to Florence, but would also provide convenience between both sides of the river. I will admit it foolish now to think the Shoals would install such a cost prohibitive project even though many cities are doing just that.
Unfortunately I think the future of our area requires us to rejoin the idea of a metro area that looks at beneficial projects for the whole rather than the parts. Our competitive spirit may actually deny us the benefits we could have. We must ask ourselves if we want to grow or we would accept shrinking into a byway.
If it is acceptable to shrink then we should expect no more than we already have in place. Without additional business and a growing population there will be no tax base to support creativity and could even jeopardize funding for a new parking garage. There are numerous cities where the citizens are seeing a reduction in services and infrastructure because of shrinkage. I know. I have lived in some during my sojourns away from home.
The Shoals is my home. As for me I would rather see us grow. I dream of busy public transport feeding a flourishing economy. Parking garages may solve some of our problems, but we are going to have to be creative if we want a bigger future.