THE NIGHTMARES NEVER END
The history of downtown Fresno parking is a “remember when” cornucopia.
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Remember when there was strong City Council sentiment to eliminate parking meters altogether, thinking that’s the key to luring shoppers from River Park, Fashion Fair and Fig Garden Village?
Remember when City Hall borrowed millions to build a huge parking garage on the Convention Center parking lot and surface lots along H Street, all of them needed to handle overflow crowds at the new downtown stadium?
Remember when the underground garage on Van Ness opened in the 1960s, and city officials were so confident of the public’s enthusiasm that they hosted a women’s fashion show in the garage?
Remember when council members and Redevelopment Agency officials in fall 2000 convinced Fresnans to foot the bill for the nearly $50 million stadium by assuring everyone that tons of $5-per-car parking in the parking garages on game night would pay for much of the annual debt on stadium construction bonds?
Remember when federal, state and county officials in the late 1990s and early 2000s promised to locate their government offices downtown, thus bringing armies of well-heeled workers to downtown’s shops and restaurants, only to have all these government agencies balk at the city’s retail parking prices?
And, perhaps most stunning of all, remember when city officials in years past, realizing that the Parking Division couldn’t generate enough money to pay for its own operations and debt service, decided (against all common sense) to borrow long-term from other City Hall pots of money, thus leading to the $35 million “negative fund balance” crisis that shocked even Wall Street?
Ah, those were the days!
The Parking Division’s Estabrooke said he’s focused on both customer service and revenue improvements.
The former could include “smart” parking meters – solar-powered, with a battery backup – that take a standard-issue credit card.
The latter could include tiered rates for meters. Park near Courthouse Park and you might pay $1 or $1.50 per hour vs. 75 cents now. Park at the corner of Mono and H streets and, instead of paying the current 75 cents per hour, you might pay a fraction of that.
City Manager Rudd said he’s focused on consciousness-raising.
The old ways may prevail, Rudd said. Rather than charge customers for the true cost of downtown parking, the City Council may want to continue subsidizing everyone with general fund money.
But when he’s done with the council members, Rudd said, “they will go into it with their eyes open.”
