Parking Clarification
The front-page of today’s Gazette (1/7/10) reports that a new parking ramp is not needed downtown. That recommendation is bound to leave the wrong impression in people’s minds. I agree with the conclusion that parking capacity in the core of downtown is sufficient today and that it should be for several more years if managed professionally. And that core parking supply is what the report to City Council on Wednesday was largely focused on. However, parking is in short supply at the southern edge of downtown, along Eighth Avenue SE, and the parking shortage will become acute with the opening of the new federal courthouse. If we don’t want to significant hinder this community’s efforts at job creation and economic development, we do indeed need a new parking ramp in the vicinity of the new federal courthouse.
Let me quickly add that I admire and appreciate what Republic Parking has done during their first months on the job here. They have brought a new degree of professionalism to the operation and have succeeded in bringing immediate improvements to the overall parking system. General Manager Jon Rouse’s report is filled with excellent data and sound reasoning. I will quibble at the margins on some of his price point recommendations (more to come on that, I’m sure). But largely, this report represents another solid step forward in our quest for a parking system that enhances the visitor experience downtown and enhances economic development efforts.
To leave the public impression, though, that parking near the courthouse is not needed is a mistake. Not only is it needed to serve the courthouse, but there is market demand and developer interest in new office park development in that area. We have a unique opportunity to bring new jobs to Cedar Rapids at a time of unacceptably high unemployment, and it would be an inexcusable shame if we turned our back on new jobs, new companies and new investment because we were unwilling to provide parking spaces to make it happen.
The Downtown District is committed to helping implement many of the recommendations in the Republic Parking report and to continue to improve our still-substandard parking system. We also remain committed to the businesses, employees, property owners and developers at the southern edge of downtown, and to their needs for additional parking capacity. We will get this done.