Last week Jared Hunter wrote about the changes to parking on Cooper Street, stating (in an email exchange he shared with the blog) that the decision to remove parking sounded like it was“for people outside of the city to benefit from development, and not those who live in Camden”. That sparked some conversation, and I asked John Kunkle if I could share his response as a guest post. Here it is: 

Thoughts (read aloud in your best Andy Rooney voice):

– The lost street parking, as a percentage of total street parking in the neighborhood, represents only a share of available parking (5th street, Pearl Street, 3rd street, penn street, the square surrounding Johnson park…).

– The neighborhood is dominated by institutions (Rutgers, CCC, LEAP, the Federal Justice Complex) that feature parking amenities. If you were a patron of Cooper Street prior to the removal of parking, you most likely still have a wide array of parking options available, albeit slightly less convenient.

– Waterfront is by it’s very nature problematic for auto access (you start of with 180 degrees less in the way of access and egress vectors). While we hope for a future less dominated by auto transport, to serve a developing waterfront you need a more effective artery.

– Why are we sensitive to critiques of jaywalkers? They come in all shapes, classes, and colors, and they’re breaking the rules. I agree with Walsh’s thesis that jaywalking occurs as a matter of convenience, rather than the disparate impact of car ownership. I’ve seen Rutgers frat bros jaywalk, I’ve seen LEAP parents jaywalk, I’ve seen indigent addicts jaywalk. The suggestion that Walsh’s descriptions carry some implicit class or racial bias is a stretch, and it smacks of the sort of overly-PC outrage culture that keeps Jordan Peterson in high-end tweed suits. My relationship with serenity wobbles when confronted with jaywalking, it is among my biggest pet peeves. Passive measures intended to discourage the practice seem to be a low impact and above all non-discriminatory approach. A fence doesn’t know what color your skin is or how much money is in your wallet.

– The emphasis on the parking spots that are being lost overshadows the rest of the project: the rebuild of Elm, Vine, Main, and Point streets. These streets currently feature actual cobblestones. “Fix the streets” is a universal resident complaint. Process matters. I would be crazy and foolish to say otherwise. There are legit process questions at work here, questions of jurisdiction, governance, authority, and transparency. There is also a certain amount of suggestion and innuendo that crops up in the furor over lost parking.

– To whit: your last question. I didn’t see the original phrasing, and Walsh’s correction seems pretty clear in meaning…but I take issue with the accusation: “it sounded more like a comment directed for people outside of the city to benefit from development, and not those who live in Camden.” That’s a heavy charge to level. You presuppose the project’s disregard for resident benefit without evidence, conveniently omitting the associated North Camden street repairs. This is a personal bias, it does not represent the academic or journalistic standard to which I believe you aspire. Again, there are legitimate disagreements to be had between people of good will over the process that effects waterfront development. I don’t suggest that ends justify means, but what I see here is a narrow critique of means paired with an incomplete account of ends. They don’t justify, they don’t negate, they exist together and must be assessed together in whole.

 – Development occurs in the context of city history, governance, and socioeconomic realities, and it is important that we understand events in context. It is equally vital that we assess individual projects on their merits and in whole, refraining from the premature projection of systemic complaints. While I am busy raging against the moving picture machine, a wise person regularly reminds me to try to understand the people with whom I disagree.

John Kunkle holds degrees in Economics and Nursing from Rutgers University-Camden. He lives and works in Camden and is romantically linked to a Cooper’s Ferry Partnership employee who is totally not Joe Myers.