Another parking lot is last thing Albany needs

TIMES UNION
First published: Tuesday, July 1, 2008

While no one disputes the rich history and contributions of the Fort Orange Club in Albany, the thinking on its ill-conceived plan for growth is backward, with the idea that the destruction of buildings to create parking space is a good thing.

The very last thing Albany needs is one more building knocked down to make a surface parking lot, regardless of who's doing the knocking down. Years ago, in the interest of "progress" for Albany, many buildings downtown were demolished to create nothing in their places but big surface parking lots that physically and psychologically damage the city fabric.

Where are the city officials and the planning committees, who need to come up with a rule that if an organization wants more parking in the city, it has to come up with a parking structure to do it? This may not be cheap, but it's also not radical. Cities across the country have guidelines in place for this today. But here in Albany, surface lots are still an option, incredibly.

This has to change. Albany is not and will never be a better place because of the many parking lots created in the interest of "progress" or "urban renewal."

DUANE BARKER
Albany