Trees and Parking

By Russ Cohen

We love our trees, but where will we park?

Our trees provide shade, fresh air and make us feel better. American Forests, a non-profit conservation organization, suggests that 40 percent tree to act as a canopy, preventing heat islands--a build up of heat from the sun pouring onto dark, non-reflective surfaces, like roofs and parking lots.

In addition, trees help us control storm water runoff. One hundred mature trees capture about 250,000 gallons of rainwater per year by absorbing the rain and slowing the flow of storm water.

Trees also clean pollutants from the air. Just 100 trees, for example, remove 5 tons of carbon dioxide from the air a year--about 1,000 pounds of pollutants.

In fact, they are a great source of good mental health. Texas A & M University studies showed that those hospitalized recovered faster if they had a view of trees.

So, when someone saves a tree in Burlingame they aren't simply saving one tree, they're actually helping to save the planet.

Burlingame's parking situation reminds me of the old adage about restaurants. People want to eat in a restaurant that has a line around the block; they don't want to eat in one that's empty. In fact, we are very lucky. We have two retail oriented areas in Burlingame and both+Broadway Avenue and the Burlingame Avenue area+are successful. The perception that there is not enough parking is in fact a sign of our success.

When there becomes an abundance of empty parking spaces in our shopping districts there may very well be plenty of empty storefronts as well.

As a past chair and member of Burlingame's Traffic, Safety and Parking Commission we developed, along with staff, both meter pricing strategies and way finding strategies. I personally designed the banners that help driver's find our public parking lots. Recent studies indicate that turnover in Burlingame Avenue's prime parking locations is higher, meaning more spaces are available, more often. More people are parking in underutilized lots. There is also a parking permit program that helps merchants encourage their employees to park in outlying lots. These tactics have apparently eased some of the burden in downtown Burlingame. In fact they have become a model for others towns in the midst of developing downtown strategies.