Multiunit housing buildings beginning to understand the value of transportation demand management

I remember the "arguments" with lawyers representing developers (in particular Chip Glasgow of the firm Holland & Knight) at ANC6C planning and zoning committee meetings in 2004 and 2005, when I would suggest accommodating carsharing, and he would reply that the building developer and likely the condominium association wouldn't want to have to let people into the building who didn't live there...

Note that I can't claim to have thought of this myself. The apartment building at 5th and Massachusetts, developed by Paradigm, had at least one carsharing space in the front area of the entryway to the building. Granted that's easier to provide public access than through a parking garage (although many buildings do this now and don't seem to worry about it). From that example, we pressed the Senate Square development on the 200 block of H Street NE to do the same thing, and with each succeeding development proposal that came before the committee, I made the same suggestion.

.. but it is important to recognize good ideas and then work to press the improvement forward, for adoption by others. (This is one of the reasons I suggested that ANCs dealing with the downtown should meet and share best practices and work for their adoption in a coordinated fashion. It never happened of course.)

From the 1/31/2010 New York Times feature "Chronicle of a Changing City":

SEWARD PARK is a huge residential co-op with a huge car problem. Street parking is almost nonexistent, and although the complex has 400 parking spots at Clinton and Grand Streets, there are roughly 500 people on the waiting list. So officials at the co-op arranged with Hertz to keep two cars on hand for hourly rentals through Connect by Hertz. Last week, a gray Prius and a cute red Smart Car took their designated spots in a driveway on Clinton Street. Residents register and pay online for the cars, which can be used for a quick errand or a weekend trip for about $10 an hour, including gas and limited mileage. Seward Park residents get a slight discount, but the cars are available to the public, said Michael Tumminia, president of the co-op’s board. “It’s a fantastic way for our people to own a car without owning a car,” Mr. Tumminia said.

Corey Kilgannon/The New York Times