A Downtown Phoenix Partnership idea that actually makes sense for downtown?

The Downtown Phoenix Partnership recently hired a consultant that recommended raising parking rates in downtown and suggested there will be a need for 27,000 additional parking spaces downtown in the next decade. And while complete details have yet to emerge, it seems possible that DPP might actually 'get it' this time.

At first, the idea that downtown could actually need any more parking seems ludicruous when the Garage Mahal is losing $3M annually and it's been reported that downtown already has as many as 50,000 parking spaces. The fact that parking in downtown Philadelphia, for instance, is eight times as expensive as here also suggests that the supply of parking is dramatically overbuilt.

Still, my overriding objection to the glut of parking downtown is the manner in which garages here have been built. Generally parking structures in Phoenix are stand-alone, space-killing buildings that in some cases occupy entire city blocks. Most have no street retail and deaden the surrounding areas. Not to mention they're just butt-ugly.

But the DPP plan actually seems to understand all this, and, perhaps with the urging of Phoenix officials, claims to make "a priority to build mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly streetscapes and buildings. " This includes underground parking.

So, while I continue to question the need for all the additional parking given what exists now and the fact that light rail is on the way, at least it may be that we've seen the last of the construction of the Soviet-style parking garages that currently dominate downtown.