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May 2008 |
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Consultant addresses parking and transportation growing pains |
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Friday, 09 May 2008 |
Advises Town commissions to look outside the box for district planning changes
By Lara Kirkner
Mammoth Times Staff Writer
 Consultant Jason Schrieber suggested more parking incentives in the lower ends of town, such as the Park and Ride on Old Mammoth Road, where land values are not as high as in places like the Village, was a good idea.MAMMOTH TIMES PHOTO/LARA KIRKNER
Both items are tough to nail down and community members expressed frustration at the district planning meeting.
Sustainable transportation
The Mobility Commission, the Planning Commission, and the Tourism and Recreation Commission got together on April 29 for a presentation from Jason Schrieber of Nelson|Nygaard Consulting Associates regarding sustainable transportation in Mammoth Lakes.
Schrieber pointed out items the community has heard before, such as the fact that Hwy 203 is the biggest impediment to the town, and that many of the constricted areas in town should be the most walkable. He did, however, strike a new chord when he explained the town's vehicle abundance as the community providing homes for cars all over Mammoth.
By not charging for parking anywhere the community is “letting their cars sleep in extremely expensive bunkers at this time when some people can't even put roofs on their houses,” Schrieber said.
People need to be given parking incentives, according to Schrieber, and one way he suggested dealing with it would be a parking cash out. In other words, paying someone to not drive their car.
Schrieber gave an example of what Stanford University had done on their campus. After doing a mortgage calculation on their parking spots, Stanford realized the cost to have the parking spots was $156 per month, but they were only charging $148 per month, therefore they were subsidizing a portion of the spots.
So the university decided to use the $148 in other venues and stopped building new parking garages. They gave people $50 to not have a car and need a parking spot, they put $50 toward public transit and another $50 into school buildings.
Schrieber suggested that one idea for Mammoth could be to create incentives for people to park lower in town and then take public transit to higher ends of town where land values are higher. More parking at the lower end of town, such as Old Mammoth Road, makes more sense, according to Schrieber, because the land values are lower.
“Get people to understand how much is sunk into car storage,” he said.
After his presentation the commissioners pointed out Mammoth's uniqueness to Schrieber, and stated the obvious, that the town is not a college campus.
“Stanford was just an example,” Schrieber said. “You can't get anywhere without change,” he added in an effort to try and get the commissioners to think outside the box and at least allow Mammoth to start thinking about some different alternatives.
East Open Space/Stream Corridor District Plan
The following evening, April 30, VITA consultants presented three planning study alternatives for the East Open Space/Stream Corridor District Plan, the area surrounding Mammoth Creek where the Sherwin project is be proposed for development. The consultants had arrived at the three planning alternatives after meeting with focus groups comprised of local community members.
Alternative one would leave things status quo. It would assume that future land uses and other improvements would occur under existing approved plans and policies, which means developments like the Sherwin and Snowcreek VIII would have to build to current heights, densities, etc. For the Snowcreek site, land use would have to follow the 1981 Master Plan and the Sherwin site development would have to follow current zoning and build transient lodging or condos up to 45 feet. Trail and mobility improvements would be minimal, as would creek management and restoration.
Alternative two would allow changes within the area as reflected in the project proposals for the Sherwin and Snowcreek VIII. Snowcreek VIII would be allowed to follow the guidelines of the new Snowcreek VIII Master Plan update (i.e. a new general store and interpretive center on the parcel) and the Sherwin could be a condo/hotel with heights ranging from 37-77 feet. Mobility and trail improvements would be substantial, as would maintenance and restoration of the creek.
Alternative three would be a hybrid plan that would represent a series of modifications to various aspects of alternatives one and two. The interpretive facilities for Snowcreek VIII would be placed at the Hayden Cabin instead and the Sherwin would reduce height to reflect that of the surrounding tree canopy at 65 feet. This alternative would include heightened creek restoration.
The purpose of the meeting last week was simply to present these alternatives to the community and receive feedback; no decisions were made.
One of the biggest concerns that the community voiced was the lack of an alternative showing the Sherwin project only being allowed a height of 35 feet, which, if they did not build parking underground, would be what they would get under current zoning.
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