David MartinMy greatest fear driving downtown, next to accidentally running over a bike-riding tourist unfamiliar with cycling laws, is turning the wrong way down a one-way street.
Since moving here I've (nearly) mastered the art of navigating Chattanooga's maze of single-direction streets. But for someone unfamiliar with this city, they're frustrating - and dangerous. I used to work in the upstairs offices at Warehouse Row, and crossing one-way Houston Street walking to and from the parking lot almost ended in calamity on more than one occasion thanks to unwitting drivers frequently barreling the wrong way toward Market Street.
You've likely seen your life flash before your eyes in a similar circumstance.
So it's heartening to witness the city toying with a possible termination of these metropolitan remnants from a bygone era. While they once served a practical purpose - per the Times Free Press' Tim Omarzu earlier this week, "civil defense planners thought they'd help people escape during a nuclear attack," and they could "get suburban commuters in and out of downtowns in a hurry" - they've long overstayed their usefulness.
Over the past few years, the city has tinkered at making traffic work more sensibly downtown. While the jury is still out on the proliferation of bike lanes (I'm being kind), other projects like the Martin Luther King Boulevard "road diet" look like they'll be successes in the long run. Turning one-way roads into two-way roads will hopefully yield positive results, too.
Yet nothing will make this potential development more effective than if it's coupled with the solving of another downtown pain point: Chattanoogans need more parking options.
And it's not just me saying that. Anchoring her pushback against the idea of the proposed two-way street conversions, Taylor Watson of Fischer Evans Jewelers - which has been open at the corner of Eighth and Market streets since 1869(!) - said "it would kill us," referring to a possible loss of on-street parking.
Chances are Watson isn't the only downtown retailer fearing a loss of parking spots tied to this specific revamping. After all, brick and mortar shops thrive off foot traffic. Taking away parking risks taking away that lifeblood of retail success.
Speaking to that point, the River City Co. (a vocal proponent of the pending street changes) released results of its most recent Downtown Chattanooga Survey last week. In it, nearly a quarter of participating urban business folk voiced concern over a "lack of parking or perception of lack of parking" downtown.
Put simply, if people even think it will be a hassle to visit your store, they'll likely have misgivings about visiting. You know what else they could have misgivings about? Moving to a place with bad (or perceived bad) parking.
In that same survey, nearly one in five respondents listed "more available parking" as an amenity "that would make living downtown more attractive." The only need that polled higher than parking was the accessibility of pharmacies and groceries.
For the record, only 4 percent wanted more bike lanes.
I digress.
I'm no city planner, but it seems more parking is a key factor in bringing more people downtown. More people spend more money. And more spent money creates more jobs, more development (perhaps that Trader Joe's everyone wants in Chattanooga?), and more tax revenue.
So, while it's important to make automobile traffic stream more fluidly downtown, it's also paramount that humans have a place to park their preferred mode of transportation.
If City Hall is looking for a massively popular traffic-related project to get behind, it's sniffing in the wrong places with "road diets," bike lanes and directional overhauls.
It's called a parking garage.
Contact David Allen Martin at davidallenmartin423@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @DMart423.