City of Houston Parking Requirements

[Houston19514]

3 minutes ago, swtsig said:

 

they also have next to zero parking requirements. downtown houston certainly has less parking requirements than say katy but not sure by how much.

 

By a lot, presuming you are talking about legal parking requirements.  Downtown has none.

[Texasota]

...and yet the market will provide. Which just goes to show how absurd the City's parking requirements outside the CBD are.

[Houston19514]

On 1/8/2018 at 8:54 PM, Texasota said:

...and yet the market will provide. Which just goes to show how absurd the City's parking requirements outside the CBD are.

 

Not entirely. Part of the reason for parking requirements elsewhere is to avoid burdening nearby residential neighborhoods.

[Texasota]

That's an indirect fix. Residential parking permits (with visitors' passes) would actually address that problem.

[Houston19514]

7 hours ago, Texasota said:

That's an indirect fix. Residential parking permits (with visitors' passes) would actually address that problem.

 

Yes indeed.  But that still imposes an externality on both the residents and the city (the residents and their visitors have the inconvenience/hassle of having to have parking permits and visitors' passes; the city has an additional regulatory and enforcement burden).  The idea behind parking requirements is to make businesses bear their own costs and keep them from imposing their costs on their neighbors.

[H-Town Man]

35 minutes ago, Houston19514 said:

 

Yes indeed.  But that still imposes an externality on both the residents and the city (the residents and their visitors have the inconvenience/hassle of having to have parking permits and visitors' passes; the city has an additional regulatory and enforcement burden).  The idea behind parking requirements is to make businesses bear their own costs and keep them from imposing their costs on their neighbors.

 

This is basically the correct reason and is the explanation why nearly every zoning code in America has parking minimums, and even the one city without a zoning code (Houston) has adopted them. That said, it would be a step forward in our evolution as a city if we got rid of them or at least drastically reduced them and embraced street parking and residential permitting. It might also help with storm runoff.

 

Now, what say we stop bumping this thread unless we have news about Block 98?

 

[Ross]

On 1/19/2018 at 6:24 AM, Texasota said:

That's an indirect fix. Residential parking permits (with visitors' passes) would actually address that problem.

Residential permits should be banned by the Legislature. All taxpayers pay for public streets, why should only nearby residents get to use them?

[Houston19514]

15 minutes ago, Ross said:

Residential permits should be banned by the Legislature. All taxpayers pay for public streets, why should only nearby residents get to use them?

 

It's a legitimate tool many cities use to help maintain pleasant residential neighborhoods.

[bobruss]

1 hour ago, Ross said:

Residential permits should be banned by the Legislature. All taxpayers pay for public streets, why should only nearby residents get to use them?

Southampton uses parking permits due to the fact so many Rice students were using their streets for parking it left no room for guests or residents who needed curbside access.

[BeerNut]

This map shows Residential Parking Permit Streets.

https://mycity.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=7073a31bffaa44e49c49ecd45792ea7a

[hindesky]

Parking Permits for portions of Washington Ave corridor and Montrose streets.

https://communityimpact.com/houston/heights-river-oaks-montrose/transportation/2022/06/02/portions-of-some-washington-avenue-corridor-montrose-streets-designated-as-residential-parking-permit-areas/

[staresatmaps]

Oh god, I hate parking hoarder NIMBYs. If you want private parking, put some on your private land.

Edited June 12, 2022 by staresatmaps

[trymahjong]

Those parking permits on Avondale are years old-yes years!

IMO — is it question of wanting “ ”private” street parking because you do live on that street? Or is it residents frustration  at people who will take up street parking (sometimes  blocking your driveway) because they don’t want to pay valet charge of what ever bar or restaurant they’ve decided to go to.

[editor]

Unpopular opinion: Prohibit street parking entirely.  Don't allow public space to be used so people can store their private property. 

[Ross]

1 minute ago, editor said:

Unpopular opinion: Prohibit street parking entirely.  Don't allow public space to be used so people can store their private property. 

That's not feasible in many areas, especially if there are garage apartments, and the driveways are narrow. Or, there are businesses on small lots, so their customers have to park on the street.

[editor]

1 hour ago, Ross said:

That's not feasible in many areas, especially if there are garage apartments, and the driveways are narrow. Or, there are businesses on small lots, so their customers have to park on the street.

The market has a remarkable ability to solve these things.  If there's a demand, small parking garages will be built.  And it's possible to build neighborhood-friendly small parking garages that don't look terrible.  People might have to *shudder* walk a block or two to get to their cars, but they also have to stop and buy gas and do a dozen other inconvenient things as part of car ownership.

I'm not saying penalize people who already own bungalows.  I'm saying don't permit any new construction without making sure there's an appropriate amount of parking on private land.  If I can't store my plastic tubs of old shoes and nick-nacks in the street because I don't live in a place with storage, why should someone else be permitted to store their personal property on public land because they don't have a place to store it?  Because it has wheels?

[rechlin]

Cars already can't be stored on the street; they have to be moved every 24 hours or be towed, per Houston city ordinance.  This means that any residence (including garage apartments) already needs off-street parking if the residents want to own cars, because you can't realistically move your parked car every single day.

[samagon]

7 hours ago, trymahjong said:

Those parking permits on Avondale are years old-yes years!

IMO — is it question of wanting “ ”private” street parking because you do live on that street? Or is it residents frustration  at people who will take up street parking (sometimes  blocking your driveway) because they don’t want to pay valet charge of what ever bar or restaurant they’ve decided to go to.

my solution to this was to hire a contractor to make my driveway wider, you have to get a permit from the city, but yeah, if your driveway is wider so you don't have to worry about street parking, and bonus, even if someone overlaps a bit, you can still comfortably get in/out.

if you don't want to spend the $5000-10,000 for concrete, another trick is to plant oleander close to your driveway between the sidewalk and street. cut it so that it doesn't make it hard for you to get in/out (or hard for pedestrians), but let it grow out into the street just enough that it makes parking next to your driveway very inconvenient. sure this makes it hard for you to park in front of your home on the street, but if the goal is to keep people from blocking your driveway, this will fix that.

[trymahjong]

6 hours ago, editor said:

The market has a remarkable ability to solve these things.  If there's a demand, small parking garages will be built.  And it's possible to build neighborhood-friendly small parking garages that don't look terrible.  People might have to *shudder* walk a block or two to get to their cars, but they also have to stop and buy gas and do a dozen other inconvenient things as part of car ownership.

 

Hmmmmmmmm   Avondale does have a remarkable parking garage. And I suppose the residents that live in the 100 block of Avondale (where the parking permits are required) could walk to the 800 block of Avondale, where the Montrose collective garage is located. The residents walk, pay for parking and suck it up so customers of the bars and restaurants can avoid valet costs and park on the street. …….something seems wrong.

[Ross]

3 hours ago, samagon said:

my solution to this was to hire a contractor to make my driveway wider, you have to get a permit from the city, but yeah, if your driveway is wider so you don't have to worry about street parking, and bonus, even if someone overlaps a bit, you can still comfortably get in/out.

if you don't want to spend the $5000-10,000 for concrete, another trick is to plant oleander close to your driveway between the sidewalk and street. cut it so that it doesn't make it hard for you to get in/out (or hard for pedestrians), but let it grow out into the street just enough that it makes parking next to your driveway very inconvenient. sure this makes it hard for you to park in front of your home on the street, but if the goal is to keep people from blocking your driveway, this will fix that.

My solution to cars blocking my driveway is a brother in law with a tow truck.

[editor]

19 hours ago, rechlin said:

You can't realistically move your parked car every single day.

Absolutely you can.  A million people in New York City do it every day so that the street sweepers can clean the streets.  Sometimes the rule is suspended for holidays, so it's announced on the radio traffic reports every ten minutes: "Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended today for Columbus Day."

Unrelated to this thread, does the City of Houston even have street sweepers?  I've never seen one, and the streets are a mess.   Even in what are supposed to be fancy neighborhoods, you can see debris piled up in the gutters for weeks and weeks.

[Ross]

1 hour ago, editor said:

Absolutely you can.  A million people in New York City do it every day so that the street sweepers can clean the streets.  Sometimes the rule is suspended for holidays, so it's announced on the radio traffic reports every ten minutes: "Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended today for Columbus Day."

Unrelated to this thread, does the City of Houston even have street sweepers?  I've never seen one, and the streets are a mess.   Even in what are supposed to be fancy neighborhoods, you can see debris piled up in the gutters for weeks and weeks.

There are street sweepers in Houston. I see them occasionally. It's been about 10 years since they came down our street, though.

Here's a super useful schedule of street sweeping for 2011 https://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/sites/default/files/assets/street_sweeping.pdf 

A search of the City's website didn't turn up anything other than some budget references

[skooljunkie]

Bwahaha. They likely have to start the engines and cruise around every quarter to keep the engines greased up. That’s all. 

[trymahjong]

just a note
 

Last time, I visited Inwood area in Manhattan, alternate side parking was only 2x a week.
IMO the whole thing is a complicated headache. NYers double park then leave cars unattended  waiting for  for street sweepers ( 2 hour  window )-good luck if you miss the opportunity to move your car from getting  caught Within inside lane.

[editor]

2 hours ago, trymahjong said:

just a note
 

Last time, I visited Inwood area in Manhattan, alternate side parking was only 2x a week.
IMO the whole thing is a complicated headache. NYers double park then leave cars unattended  waiting for  for street sweepers ( 2 hour  window )-good luck if you miss the opportunity to move your car from getting  caught Within inside lane.

Yep, it's a fiasco.  But it's one of the responsibilities that come with owning a car in city.

You're responsible for gas.  You're responsible for maintenance.  You're responsible for insurance.  You should also be responsible for having a place to store it, rather than leaving it on public property.

[trymahjong]

Another little note…….
Residents of Inwood DO acknowledge responsibilities of having a car -However being a good car owning citizen that does the yadadada on alternate side parking isn’t as romantic as it might seem………their aren’t any “perks” for the personal time you devote to getting that street sweeping done…..car ownership aside.

…Inwood is one of the highest  points in Manhattan nice long winding roads with theHudson River on Westside and a huge old growth park complex of both Isham and Inwood Park ( Inwood is supposedly  where Powhattan  sold the land for a handful of beads)

Everyone, E-v-e-r-y-o-n-e drives into these parks on weekend to participate in sports, activities and picnics—- no ride sharing as far as I have observed- only free parking their cars everywhere., up and down the neighborhood streets. Result—- hard for residents to find street parking. 

Not much sympathy for residents but it’s still sorta crap for those that actually live close and do what it takes to not only get the streets swept but also sidewalks and parks picked up.

 

[samagon]

so then you start talking about parking meters, and residents don't want that, but it would cover some of the costs associated with the mess from the tourists.

NYC and Houston are two different animals, our land isn't so expensive that we can't have surface lots strewn about our primary business district.

there aren't many homes in Houston that don't have parking available for owners/renters. it isn't till you start getting into garage apartments and owners saying 'street parking only' that you get that, but I bet if you asked the city, they'd say that it is the responsibility of the owner to provide on site parking for renters, as well as those staying in the primary residence. aka, street parking for garage apartments isn't endorsed by COH, and people who want to rent their garage don't want to be inconvenienced by having to find parking for the renter.

[wilcal]

On 6/14/2022 at 8:50 AM, editor said:

Absolutely you can.  A million people in New York City do it every day so that the street sweepers can clean the streets.  Sometimes the rule is suspended for holidays, so it's announced on the radio traffic reports every ten minutes: "Alternate side of the street parking rules are suspended today for Columbus Day."

Unrelated to this thread, does the City of Houston even have street sweepers?  I've never seen one, and the streets are a mess.   Even in what are supposed to be fancy neighborhoods, you can see debris piled up in the gutters for weeks and weeks.

 

 

On 6/14/2022 at 10:38 AM, Ross said:

There are street sweepers in Houston. I see them occasionally. It's been about 10 years since they came down our street, though.

Here's a super useful schedule of street sweeping for 2011 https://www.publicworks.houstontx.gov/sites/default/files/assets/street_sweeping.pdf 

A search of the City's website didn't turn up anything other than some budget references

I think it was brought up in a meeting I watched last year that all city streets are supposed to be swept twice per year.... riiiiight. lol.

Also, evidently the city is getting bids for a mini sweeper for the bike lanes finally!

 

[editor]

On 6/17/2022 at 12:57 PM, wilcal said:

I think it was brought up in a meeting I watched last year that all city streets are supposed to be swept twice per year

Twice a year?  Even in the crappiest cities I've lived the streets got swept once a week.

Except Seattle, where it's probably less necessary because of the rain.  Which I actually enjoyed.

[Houston19514]

6 minutes ago, editor said:

Twice a year?  Even in the crappiest cities I've lived the streets got swept once a week.

Except Seattle, where it's probably less necessary because of the rain.  Which I actually enjoyed.

Seattle gets excused because of its 37 inches of annual rainfall, but no excuse for Houston, which averages almost 50 inches?