The City of Peoria owns a number of parking decks downtown and outsources the management of them to National Garages. According to the 2007 City Budget, the city owns about 4,600 parking spaces in decks and surface lots. The city isn’t making any money on these lots. Between the debt service, the cost to manage the decks, and the artificially low rates, the city is heavily subsidizing downtown parking.
But there’s more than just operational costs to owning parking decks — there’s also maintenance costs. According to the budget document, National Garages takes care of routine maintenance as part of their contract. Structural upkeep, however, is the city’s responsibility. Structural repairs for the Jefferson Street and Twin Towers parking decks are on the agenda for tomorrow night’s meeting, and the cost is a whopping $738,437.
Peoria should sell these decks to the businesses that use them and let those businesses maintain them for their own patrons at their own expense — just like every other business in Peoria does that isn’t located downtown. Then Peoria could use the money it saves for services that benefit all Peorians, like fire and police.
Mmm… no the city should not sell them but rather they should start charging a rate that is more realistic. Indeed more lots should be public. One such lot should be the one surrounding campus town.
Why should they not sell them?
Well in any high density business/residential environment, private parking is a bane. By having the city own these garages, they can ensure that the spaces are open to any and all comers. If the garage were privately held, then quite possibly the garage would only be used by that company (Cat’s garage..), standing empty a great deal of the time. It is the same problem you have with the big lots outside of retail establishments like Wal-mart. It ends up being wasted space when business is slow or closed.
Parking should be reusable public space. By ensuring it is reusable, you can reduce the overall quantity of spaces needed, thereby making the environment more pedestrian friendly.
Mahkno — That’s a good alternative. I wasn’t suggesting that only one business buy a parking deck and keep other businesses out, but that several property owners in close proximity to a deck that serves their properties purchase that deck as a joint venture; we definitely need shared parking downtown. But perhaps your suggestion is more realistic. The point I’m getting at is that we shouldn’t be subsidizing downtown parking.
I worry a little bit that if rates are allowed to float to their natural levels, that might drive businesses out of the downtown and into the northwest corridor. There’s not great public transit in Peoria, so professionals who work downtown (like my husband) have little choice but to drive and pay to park, and I know it’s a source of disgruntlement for a lot of folks. Most employers in Peoria seem not to pay for downtown parking or to offer pre-tax parking deductions, as is much more common in Chicago.
Well Eyebrows… what you point out is lends to the argument that Peoria needs to apply the New Urbanist standards throughout Peoria, new and old. The new developments should also have shared public parking. Private parking should be an absolute minimum, to even a deliberate shortage (of course some people confuse shortage with inconvenience), to encourage more use of public transit. Apply the standards citywide, would help level the playing field.
I agree with Mahkno. New Urbanist standards need to be applied in ALL new construction, even on so-called greenfield developments (the exceptione being heavy industrial). We complain now about parts of the city south of War Drive that were green during my parents’ time.
“artifically low rates”???
Funny how parking fees are lower in other Midwestern cities (Des Moines, Indianapolis, etc.), and Peoria can’t keep their decks up without raising fees?
There is no way to apply any formula that will make it attractive to do business downtown without subsidizing parking. The bigger city rules do not apply here, this is Peoria and it will always be cheaper to move out to flat green areas and pave them. Unless you can find a way to regulate way beyond the city limits with the new urbanist ideas they just will not happen when only driven by the free market, not here.
I don’t understand you guys. Free market or not free market–it can’t work both ways. You can’t mandate new urbanism out of one side of your mouth and expect parking decks to run on a free market.
If we want businesses downtown–why not stop taxing them? That makes a lot more sense than just playing games with parking decks and gateway buildings and civic centers, etc. Get the city out of the market–both in subsidies and regulations and you’ll find the city growing.
And before you start crying out about businesses are subsidized by not paying taxes–it doesn’t work that way. *Citizens* not businesses benefit from the work of government. Citizens are benefited by having businesses close by and by having jobs (which are easier to come by if there are no taxes for businesses).
If you want the market to work–stand back and let it work. But if you start playing with it don’t be surprised when everyone is after graft.
I believe low-cost downtown parking DOES “benefit all Peorians.”