Parking, Streets, and Density

The Reverend/Councilman Jim Coston, South Ward Councilman for Trenton, recently posted an entry about my blog entry for Trenton Plans blog. My blog continues a discussion we had in the KSS Princeton office yesterday about parking—and a starting point to try to engage more of Trenton to think more critically about its urban form and density. Excerpts follow:

Many planners reference the idea that 1/3 of any built community is usually dedicated towards cars…. It seems that we only notice parking when it is not there–it is an entitlement that most of us expect…. Since Trenton has an 18th and 19th century street grid (a dense grid), and because the downtown core is a relatively low density, Trenton is burdened by a double whammy of a high percentage of land dedicated to streets, but with a relatively low urban fabric and ratable base. We have the worst of both worlds.