Tourism Infrastructure

In order for a town’s tourism industry to thrive, there are some basic necessities you have to provide. Adequate parking and restroom facilities are a must. If I can’t park and pee, I’m going to be a mighty cranky tourist. Fredericksburgers have complained for years about the inadequate parking downtown. I don’t really get this. There are two municipal parking lots downtown, plus ample street parking, especially if you’re willing to walk a block or two (which, generally speaking, Americans are not). I’ve been downtown for the most crowded events and never had a problem finding a parking spot on a side street within a few blocks, and most people (myself included) could use a little more walking. But in order to address the clamor for more parking, the city erected a parking garage.

Now, normally a parking garage is a hideous structure. But lucky for us, we already had a hideous structure (the Executive Plaza) perfect for a parking garage to hide behind. And I think the garage is actually a pretty attractive building, scale notwithstanding. I might go so far as to say it’s the best looking parking garage I’ve ever seen. I’m not sure how much business it’s getting—it always seems to be underutilized whenever we use it—but hopefully the downtown merchants are happy about it (although I don’t really know until I read about it on the whiteboard in the window of Riverby Books). There is at least the perception of plentiful parking, and perception is everything.

I just happened to catch the trolley passing in front of the garage:

If you climb to the top level of the parking garage and step outside, it's like our own little Fredericksburg observation tower, 3-1/2 stories above the ground. Here's the view:

As for the public restroom, well, there’s only one on the lower end of Caroline Street, but it’s quite nice. It’s one of these touch-free facilities: the toilets flush, the faucets turn on, and the hand driers start blowing, all automatically. It's too bad there isn't another public facility at the other end of the historic district, especially since most stores don’t provide public restrooms (in fact, many stores seem downright touchy about it, with signs alerting visitors to their no-restroom policy right up there on the front door with the store hours and the credit card logos). If nature calls at the restroom-less end of Caroline, I suggest a stop at Hyperion, where the crowd is lively enough that no one is likely to notice you’re just using the restroom. If you feel guilty, buy a cup of coffee. It’s good stuff.

Here's the restroom, next to the visitor center. It's open daily until 7 pm. And yes, it's important enough to blog about. You'd be surprised how often I use it.