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��'- Jz <br /> Downtown: A Park Once Environment <br /> Assume that you have the afternoon off, and you are going to take care of some errands. First, <br /> you might stop by the post office to send a package to someone. Next, let's say that you drop a <br /> watch off to get repaired. Next you meet a friend for some conversation over coffee, and lastly <br /> you pick up a book that you've been meaning to read before you finally head home. <br /> In a non-downtown setting you would probably need a parking space at each one of these <br /> destinations. That would mean, for this example, that you needed four pazking spaces for this <br /> afternoon. <br /> However, in a good downtown, your afternoon would be different. You would conceivably only <br /> need one parking space for the afternoon. You could easily walk from the post office to the <br /> watch repair shop to the coffee shop to the bookstore and back to your car again. Why is this? <br /> There are three main characteristics of a good downtown that make it possible. <br /> 1. Compactness <br /> 2. Mixed-use <br /> 3. Walkability <br /> First, downtowns are compact. This means that a given number of activities take up less space. <br /> This is because buildings are usually taller and cover more of their site. By bringing everything <br /> closer together, the need to drive from one place to another is reduced. <br /> Second, downtowns are mixed-use in nature. This means that of�ces, shops, restaurants, <br /> services, and residences can a11 be found very close together, sometimes in the same building. <br /> Non-downtown areas typically segregate these functions from each other, which causes them to <br /> be further from each other than they are downtown. This distance is usually beyond a <br /> comfortable walk, which most people consider to be 1 /a of a mile or less. <br /> Finally, good downtowns are walkable. What does "walkable" mean? Technically you can walk <br /> just about anywhere, right? That is true. But to be truly walkable, a place must be inviting to <br /> walkers and must provide them with comfort, security, and interest. Sidewalks must not only be <br /> present, but they must be sufficiently wide. Street trees and awnings should protect from the sun <br /> and rain. Parked cars should protect them from traffic. Storefronts and architecture should offer <br /> visual interest. The street pattern should be fine grained and interconnected so that pedestrians <br /> can take direct routes to their destination. When all of these factors are in place, a downtown is <br /> truly walkable. <br /> Fortunately, Downtown Redwood City has a11 of these traits and is building on them as we <br /> speak. Downtown Redwood City is a"park once" environment and an effective parking <br /> management plan will capitalize on this quality and enhance it. This is critical, because park- <br /> once environments have many advantages. First, they simply require fewer parking spaces. A <br /> given number of shops and restaurants will require fewer parking spaces if they are clustered <br /> together in a park-once downtown environment than they would if they were scattered about the <br /> landscape in the typical fashion. This saves businesses, property owners, and the City a lot of <br /> paste 6 <br />