Aug. 22, 2008
Downtown Parking Garage Threatens Market, Raises Ire
Critics say proposal ignores the findings of a 2003 transportation study funded by the city of Santa Cruz
By Curtis Cartier
Easily the ugliest buildings in town, parking garages have always had a tough row to hoe when it comes to getting public support. The city’s proposal to build a five-story, 612-space parking garage on the corner of Cedar and Cathcart Streets is no different, and a growing group of residents is stepping up to oppose the building and everything it stands for.
The Committee for a Vibrant Downtown is citing a 2003 transportation study that calls for enhanced alternative transportation programs and uniform parking rates as opposed to new parking structures. The Master Transportation Study was a $500,000, two-year effort spearheaded by the city and university to determine solutions to traffic congestion and parking deficiencies.
Peter Beckmann, spokesman for the CVD, says the study has been “buried in a desk somewhere” and was not used in determining the need for a new garage.
“We need to increase the parking efficiency that we already have,” says Beckmann. “We have to have places to park, but we also need downtown to be a nice place to come to. The study showed a lot of great ideas for different ways to come at the parking problem. I’d just like to see all the options looked at.”
Ride sharing, employee “cash out” programs involving businesses paying their employees not to drive and bus vouchers are aqmong the recommendations the study makes.
Mark Dettle, director of public works, contends that the MTS has been utilized and that a new garage is in fact needed, along with a handful of alternatives voiced by opposition.
“People think all parking is bad. Bus passes, ride sharing—those are just one piece of the puzzle,” says Dettle. “This building would include green building requirements, landscaping and a housing and business component. It would be a nice structure.”
Dettle says by the end of this year, downtown will be 102 parking spaces short, and that number will increase every year as more of the city’s general plan is enacted. To pay the $15.4 million price tag on the building, he’s recommending fee increases for meters, permits and garages. He’d also like to axe the majority of downtown’s free parking. This comes in addition to the hefty loan the city will no doubt need in order to construct the thing.
The Downtown Farmers Market currently makes weekly use of part of the lot at Cedar and Cathcart, and if the parking garage is built it would need to find a new home. Will Brokaw, owner of Brokaw Nursery, is a longtime farmer’s market vendor and says he depends on the market to make ends meet.
“I simply could not imagine the farmer’s market being anywhere but downtown,” says Brokaw. “I really don’t know how I’d survive without it.”
Dettle says he’s been working closely with market vendors, and while no replacement site has been finalized, he’s confident that the market will remain downtown.
Meanwhile, approval of the design phase of the parking garage will go before the city council sometime in September, Dettle says. Beckmann said he and the rest of the CVD are ready to fight every step of the way.
