Parking Lots and Trees

This article sums up something that’s been needling me about downtown Duluth. All of the parking lots the hospitals seem to think they need could be greatly improved with a smattering of trees.

MinnPost: “Needed to fix parking blight: Lots of trees

2 Comments

schmood1971

about 12 years ago

The City's Unified Development Code, enacted in November 2010, addresses these issues in great detail. You may peruse the parking standards in Section 50-24, wherein reductions in the required number of spaces are allotted to those facilities with ready access to public transit. 

You may then proceed to section 50-25 where you will be informed that new parking lots shall have a minimum of 10-15 percent of the area landscaped, and that parking areas shall be planned to be a minimum of 30 percent shaded by mature tree canopy.

All this is slowly moving us toward less hard surface and more urban trees. It will take a while to repair 80 years of "damage" though. After all, the best time to plant a tree is 20 years ago. 

To conclude with a political comment, as frustrating as regulation can be, sometimes it results in a better end. I think the UDC's landscaping provisions are pointing us that way.

spy1

about 12 years ago

I was heartened by the parking plan at Whole Foods, via the News Tribune:

Construction Zone: Whole Foods Co-op in Duluth expands parking lot

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