Parking lot: Accessing the Building

One of the main thing a downtown "urban" restaurant needs to decide, is whether they provide parking or assume that their patrons will be part of the walking and public transportation community. While I think it is important to strike a balance between the two, we are not in an urban enough community to assume that cars will not be used.

Our three restaurants shared one main similarity in that they all offered both an option for a parking lot as well as easy access to public transportation. Paradise and Chilis actually shared a parking lots, however their access were very different. Paradise offered their parking directly in front of the building, as well as a large parking lot filling the rest of the space. All the times I have visited this shopping center, the parking lot has never been full, so finding a spot has never been an issue. The lot is directly across the street from the Trolley trax stop, so public transportation access is very easy. The only thing that might be of a concern to Paradise is parking in the winter months. The parking lot is relatively pot-hole free, but slopes slightly toward the bakery. In the winter this can be quite icy despite any salt that is added for traction. I think it might be beneficial if the parking lot were evened out so that no safety hazards were present. Per observation, I found that many people had issues crossing the lot in this icy weather. the behavior map enclosed in notes shows clear paths that were chosen to be less icy, and thus should have some kind of flat sidewalk built there with constant attention to de-icing.

Chilis is in a similair situation since it shares a parking lot with Paradise, however their parking issue differs slightly. Their parking area is slightly smaller considering they probably take a lot more customers throughout the day than Paradise. The parking is off to the side, so you are forced to walk most of the way around the building to access the front door. When I went late at night it was quite icy and despite any salt that had been applied to the gound, the uneven levels made it difficult to walk. I think it would have been helpful to make a clear sidewalk area where patrons could walk on even ground when approaching the restaurant.

When approaching Training Table, patrons are forced to park in the back of the restaurant and walk through uneven ground to the front entrance. I've always found it frustrating, (especially in the winter), to park my car entirely behind the building and have to walk all the way around while dodging puddles to reach the front. I think the restaurant would've been bettered served to either move the door to the other side of the building or simply place the parking lot in front of the structure so that accessing it is much more direct.

training table parking lot, facing the rear of the building.