The Observation Deck

Raise rents 10% on every rental unit.

Change metered parking to 1 hour for a quarter?



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would there be more apartments left vacant?

Downtown Medina got rid of parking meters. The downtown streets are packed with traffic most of the day. Though they are also the merging of several state routes, most of the traffic is local. A closer approximation to Lakewood would be Westerville, OH. It has a similar length of commercial main streets and dense old-urban houses, but endless hordes of traffic as a suburb of Columbus: I don't remember if there were parking meters.

ryan costa wrote:would there be more apartments left vacant?

Downtown Medina got rid of parking meters. The downtown streets are packed with traffic most of the day. Though they are also the merging of several state routes, most of the traffic is local. A closer approximation to Lakewood would be Westerville, OH. It has a similar length of commercial main streets and dense old-urban houses, but endless hordes of traffic as a suburb of Columbus: I don't remember if there were parking meters.

Ryan

You are sharp.

In the declining economy, and tightening of the money supply. Rentals will fill fast enough. But if we could collectively raise the rates, owners would be forced to improve their property, for the higher rate.

While going through very stores in Lakewood and my own business it is amazing how often I hear, "Got to run meter almost out." This is almost always because they grabbed the FREE 30 minutes. Barely enough time to do business. So you double the time, dump the FREE, make it an hour and people will want more for their quarter. They might actually shop, go into other stores, and buy.

Looking and going over numbers of some recent reports, would indicate, nudges not overhauls needed.


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heh heh heh.

I hope it works. From what I've read of former classmates now living in lakewood, they percieve an increase in the number and proximity of young people who are loud and aggravating in their apartment buildings or neighboring duplexes. While no racial, ethnic, or socio-economic epithets are used, these nuisances are characterized as "moving in from Cleveland". Even though the behavior characterizes half the people on the school bus or hanging out in the laundromat in Sheffield Lake when I was there.

From a - perhaps - hippy/new age standpoint, it may be the actual acts of maintaining or improving properties that increase conscious valuation of the area, which leads to higher expectations of behavior. One time a Vrabel broke a glass bottle on the street in front of the yard, and my step-father made him clean it up.

Sometimes I have coffee at the Colonial Arcade. It is generally much more expensive looking inside than Tower City. Although there are few yayhoos, mushmouths, and suspected drug dealers at Colonial Arcade, there aren't many other people there either.

Help me understand how an increase in rental rates helps anybody except the landlords themselves. How would they be pressured into improving the property instead of just pocketing the extra cash?

Brian Pedaci wrote:Help me understand how an increase in rental rates helps anybody except the landlords themselves. How would they be pressured into improving the property instead of just pocketing the extra cash?

That is similar to arguments against lowering corporate income taxes or increasing wages.

The gist of its rental unit application is two-fold. If rents are raised across the board, landlords will have to work harder to attract renters who don't remind other residents of Cleveland. Maybe 50 percent of the rent increases can be used to hire off-duty cops, Oprah Winfrey, Dr.Phil, and Super Nanny to go on foot patrols around the blocks and teach Suspects how to act in such ways that don't remind other residents of Cleveland. Once this happens, entrepeneurs will expect property values to rise and discretionary spending to rise. So they will open up boutiques or try to build a big ticket Lifestlye Complex.

As X approaches C, f(X) approaches ECONOMIC_GROWTH.

Brian Pedaci wrote:Help me understand how an increase in rental rates helps anybody except the landlords themselves. How would they be pressured into improving the property instead of just pocketing the extra cash?

Brian

The market would apply the pressure. There are no guarantees, some would. Maybe play off Ryan's ideas and hire more inspectors.

Would you pay 10% more for a nice clean safe house, where you have a handyman on call 24/7/365? Where you are given CASH credits for small repairs you make, for paying rent early, cutting the grass, garage parking, central air, finished basements, pets allowed, etc. In other words a nice home where the landlord is willing to work with you to keep it as nice or nicer than when you moved in.

We had a discussion on this board months ago about renting practices. While some landlords are only in it for the money, I believe a good case can be made that by being a great landlord, with nice property there is more money to be made during the life of the property and also on the market later.

The key in my mind with renting units is the down time between the renters. Reduce that, and you have a winner. Our last renters stayed 8 years, because the place was so nice, and we took care of it. It was only the low interest rates that made them finally pool and buy a house together. Those days are quickly coming to an end as the money supply tightens. Will only gets worse as China starts to dump their holdings.

Maybe we need a landlord school?


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Jim,

The meter thing is a big problem. No one seems to agree. Maybe this would be a good poll type of question.

1) Get rid of meters altogether. They don't make much money and they hurt business. The weren't going to charge at the West End. Why should those businesses have gotten more help than any other business in Lakewood.

2) Allow 30 minutes free. That is enough time to do banking, get in and pick up an order etc.

3) Allow 60 minutes free. 30 minutes isn't enough

4) Charge .25 for the first hour.

5) Charge for every minute - firms like Calanni's takes advantage of the situation and therefore if you want to have a place to park - you have to make everyone pay.

I have heard good impassioned arguments for each position.

Of course, my all time favorite is put in angled parking so we have more parking and this isn't an issue. Maybe make Detroit and Madison each one way and add lots more parking - maybe even enlarge the sidewalks so we can have cafe's extending out of the restaurants.

I think we need to experiment with the last item. It isn't that expensive to implement and could definately make people happy.

How about.

First hour 50 cents or one token.

The token would only cost residents 25 cents. Available at any store that takes part.

The stores start underground networks of selling tokens to anyone, even those from out of town. Profits go up as they leave go home, leave their tokens on the dresser, and have to pay full price again. Even if they keep them in their car, it will remind them they already have paid for shopping in Lakewood, might as well go back. Driving around with little reminders of why people live in Lakewood.

Works with Bus tokens, and ride tokens.

Or I could put a Ryan twist on it. Charge 35cents an hour, but have the meter only take quarters. Every turn of the meter would see a net profit of 15 cents more. Think about it!

parking? only paint on a road , we should try everything.


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parking might be easier in such a way: Turn nearly every side street into a one-way street. Allow parking on both sides of said streets.

When I was driving I usually ended up leaving my car on a side street or Tops Parking lot, in Lakewood.

Free parking would potentially ruin some downtown business parking. Think of all the people that work downtown Lakewood now not having to use permit lots and side-streets to park for work...or take the bus or walk. During the business hours, all lots would be full of only the people that work there...not much room for customers. My thought, anyway.

I like the half hour. It isn't enough to make a day of it but certainly is enough for run in, pay a bill, pick up food, purchase an item, etc. and get out. If you know you are going to want to shop a bit, a quarter gets you an hour and a half. I think it is fine. Pony up the quarter.

without the enforcement of parking meter violations the cost is irrelevant. Hopefully my car doesn't become targeted as it seemed to be in Cleveland Hts and downtown but in those two cities, you know that if you leave you're meter unpaid for more than 5 minutes you have a ticket. I've had a couple in Lakewood but that was usually after leaving it overnight or getting towed on St Patrick's day because I forgot that there was no parking on Bunts on weekdays, that was a great start to a day.

I like the creative ideas and hopefully the city and businesses can find something that is viable. I've wondered why technology can't be better implemented in this situation. Maybe it's too "Jetsons" but I picture a motion sensor camera that is activated if a car is parked in a spot and you do not swipe your debit card. If you don't deactivate the sensor, then you recieve a bill in the mail. Unlike the red light cameras, the city doesn't have to squabble with points on your mvr, it's just a fine. Heck with all this free time. I really don't have a problem with dropping some change to park. It normally is one of three things; no quarters available, why drop a quarter just to get a ticket as well because it takes 35 minutes and not 30 to run my errand, or I feel like living dangerously and this is the only outlet that my life allows anymore.

I wonder if violation penalties are the point of parking tickets.

Making most side streets one way would generate much traffic ticket revenue for driving the wrong way, while at the same time doubling available parking spaces.

On the other hand, these tickets would anger visitors immensely. Assuming people go downtown cleveland only because they have to, yet are supposed to visit the boutiques, restaurants, and bars in Lakewood because they Want to, these tickets might make a bad impression. I've refused to drive to Case Western since getting a parking ticket there.

not a big fan of the one way idea. I still have awful memories of Boston because of the traffic patterns, that and the Charles River really smelled on the hot days.

allowing Parking on both sides of the side streets might work without one way streets.

Simply lowering the speed limit on these streets would lower the safety risks. 15 or 20 mph should do it. again, nearly doubling parking spaces.

Maybe traffic ticket revenue still goes up.