At the Congress for the New Urbanism in April, Stefanos Polyzoides described Austin's downtown as "scarred." Austin's downtown is littered with parking lots and parking garages that have turned large swaths into dead space, hostile soil for a lively cityscape.
I was reminded of Polyzoides's comment the other day driving down Guadalupe. Guadalupe, one of downtown's principal corridors, has 11 parking lots between 3rd and 13th (and that's generous: I didn't count two drive-through banks or another parking garage with office space above it).
Some glum photos below the jump.
What can we do about it? Probably nothing (so maybe there's no real point to this entry). There is only so much demand for retail and residential downtown. They complement one another so, for now, it's good that they are clumping together along Second Street and Congress Avenue.
West side of Guadalupe between 5th and 6th
This is the downtown post office, of course. It vies with the lot two photos down for the title of "Worst Spot in Downtown."
You know how at the end of the meal at some restaurants, the waiter will bring the dessert tray and tilt it up slightly so you can see all the desserts? That evidently was the design principle here, with automobiles as the sweets.
Northeast corner of Guadalupe and 4th
This is the site of the old Fox and Hound pub, torn down to make room for more apartments. It's too bad developers won't leave these structures intact and occupied until they're ready to start development.
West side of Guadalupe between 3rd and 4th
A nice, big dead block between 3rd Street and Republic Square. The Austin Musem of Art has proposed a new museum for this space, along with an office tower. But given the credit crunch and rising construction costs, I'm skeptical of new projects until they break ground.
Northeast corner of Guadalupe and 8th
Southeast corner of Guadalupe and 9th
This isn't bad as parking lots go. The stone wall and trees provide some camouflage. (Maybe we should be worrying about design standards for surface parking lots. If tough design standards discourage them, all the better.)
Northeast corner of Guadalupe and 13th
Southeast corner of Guadalupe and 12th
West side of Gauadlupe between 12th and 13th
West side of Guadalupe between 11th and 12th
Southeast corner of Guadalupe and 11th
Southeast corner of Guadalupe and 10th
