Bend set to study downtown parking situation
Finding a parking spot in downtown Bend at times can be like digging for gold. Once you find a spot, you can only stay there for two to three hours for free. Businesses in the area say the parking situation needs to be looked at, and that’s about to happen.
“We have to offer better parking so people want to come to our stores,” Jennifer Haugen with What Lola Wants said Friday.
The Downtown Bend Business Association told NewsChannel 21 that the city of Bend has not done a formal parking analysis on the downtown area in 14 years, since four weeks after 9/11.
Association Executive Director Chuck Arnold said that was a time when few people were traveling. Since then, commercial space downtown has increased 47 percent (and the Centennial Plaza parking garage has been built).
Some merchants said they know what should be done.
“Extend the two hours,, because two hours does not cut it,” Haugen said.
Arnold told us the two-hour limit is a necessary evil. It keeps customers flowing in and out and should, in theory, maximize business.
But some businesses see the limit as hurting business.
“Because there is nothing worse after they come into our shop, buy our merchandise — and there’s a $10 or $20 ticket” on their car when they return, Haugen said.
The city has contracted with Diamond Parking to manage the downtown area parking for more than 15 years. They sell parking permits, but they also give out citations to those who overstay their welcome.
“We give about average 1,000 tickets a month,” said Terence Spakousky with Diamond Parking.
Tickets are at least $11 a pop but can run upward of $22 or more. All of that money goes to the city and into a parking management fund.
In 2014 Bend made more than $216,000. The city says that money goes to maintaining the parking structure, striping, painting, road repairs and signage.
The future analysis will be contracted out to a company that specializes in parking management and policy. It could start as soon as June of this year.
