The Department of Public Works calls it Lot 10. Customers and employees in the City of Santa Cruz think of it as one of the last bastions of downtown’s free parking. But it won’t be for long.
The cement garage on the corner of River and Front, sandwiched between Wells Fargo and Regal Riverfront Twin, is under construction this week. The changes underway offer a glimpse into the future of Santa Cruz’s ongoing parking debate.
The city council voted in December to convert the bottom story of the lot from three-hour free parking to paid and permit parking, at a cost of $610,000. When construction crews came in with wire fencing to install metal boxes with large, mechanical arms, the change brought disappointment to downtown Santa Cruz, especially from people who work in the area and pay each day they work.
Public works director Mark Dettle, who spoke at a meeting about parking at NextSpace Coworking last week, understands downtown employees aren’t thrilled about the development.
“Most visitors don’t complain about parking,” Dettle said at the meeting. “It’s people who use it every day. It adds up. I understand that.”
The garage’s setup right now has permit parking, which is being under-utilized, on the top two floors. Soon all three levels will accommodate people with permits or who pay day-use fees—hopefully making the lot more efficient and using more spots. If the city ignored the need, Dettle says, “we would probably have more of a shortage of parking downtown.”
Dettle adds the change could encourage people to bike, bus or walk downtown. The city has a goal of reducing in-town car trips 10 percent by 2020.
But business owners at NextSpace, which is near Lot 10, say three-hour free parking is only part of the issue. Chris Miller, president of Launch Brigade, has grown frustrated with having to pay parking deficiency fees in addition to buying parking permits for himself and his workers—at $31 a month per permit.
“There’s a sense that we as businesses double-pay for parking,” says Miller, who attended the meeting to discuss parking with Mayor Hilary Bryant and city staff. “We pay parking deficiency fees to the city through our membership at NextSpace, and we also pay for our employees’ parking permits.”
Jeremy Neuner, CEO of NextSpace, says his company pays $10,000 in parking deficiency fees every year. Those fees cover rent on certain lots the city doesn’t own, and pays for debt the city has left over from lot construction. The fees pay for maintenance of the lots and for two public restrooms. They also fund trash and recycling collection, security, scrubbing of some sidewalks and alleys, and administrative costs.
Public Works launched a program last year that covers a portion of businesses’ parking deficiency fees through July.
Cathcart Fight
Lot 10 probably won’t be the last parking controversy this year. For decades, city officials have discussed putting a new garage on the corner of Cedar and Cathcart, currently the site of Wednesday’s downtown Farmers Market. It’s a plan that was never popular with farmers-market lovers or alternative transportation advocates, but the discussion might be changing.
“It’s very early in the conversation,” says Amelia Conlen, who has been director of People Power since July. “I don’t think a new parking garage is necessarily a bad thing.”
Conlen says a new garage could increase urban density but also hopes city staff looks into alternatives like expanding the Ride Spring program.
Dettle says the new Warriors stadium gives Santa Cruz a feel for what it’s going to be like if the vacant storefronts downtown fill up.
“If we think it is hard to find place to park during a Warriors game, it’s possibly time to start thinking about the next garage,” he says.
