Thursday, March 30, 2017

'Angled' parking options for The Point outlined Wednesday at PRNC meeting

  POINT RICHMOND - Options for improving parking in the Point Richmond Business District were presented Wednesday night by two City of Richmond staff members.
    Denee Evans and Patrick Phelan outlined three specific ideas, all of which included making Park Place a one-way street - heading from West Richmond Avenue to Washington Avenue.
   The options all suggested changing the parallel parking on both sides of Park Place to having a mix of angled and parallel parking spaces.
    "We have a number of transportation demand challenges ahead," Evans said. "Parking, traffic congestion, enforcement and the impact of pending housing and commercial developments."
 
   The housing impacts Evans was referring to include the already approved Terminal One and Shea Homes projects and the proposed 270-unit condo & townhouses proposed by New West Development Corporation of Las Vegas to be built on Seacliff Drive.
    The first option presented would have angled parking on the east side of Park Place with parallel parking on the west. But under this option, these spots would require drivers to back into the angled parking spaces in front of the businesses.
    "It's trickier backing in. But it's easier to see bicyclists when pulling out," Phelan said.
    The second option had the angled parking on the east side also, but motorists would drive straight in.
    In the third option, the angled parking would be on the west side, with normal parallel parking on the east.
 
   Evans and Phelan also presented a design to improve pedestrian safety on the corner of Railroad and West Richmond Avenues by "squaring up" the intersection.
   The idea of expanding sidewalk areas in front of businesses out into the street to allow for construction of temporary "parklets" was also presented and discussed briefly.