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Amado de Villa, a field technician with CALE Parking USA, uses a credit card to test a parking machine that he installed in the new parking lot located on Fourth Street under Highway 101 on Wednesday. BETH SCHLANKER/PD
By KEVIN McCALLUM
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Four years ago, Santa Rosa lost 148 downtown parking spaces when Caltrans started using two city parking lots as a staging area for the widening of Highway 101.
Now those spaces are returning, thanks to a city project restoring parking on the site, located just east of Railroad Square directly under Highway 101 between Third and Fifth streets.
“We’re delighted,” said Lynda Angell, president of the Historic Railroad Square Association.
The 165 spaces are expected to open Monday. The project cost about $750,000, including paving, lighting and parking kiosks, an investment the city’s parking district expects to recoup through higher parking fees, said Deputy Parking Director Cheryl Woodward.
The new lots are larger than the original free parking areas the city had operated since 1981 because Caltrans demolished several buildings on the site and incorporated the additional space into the city’s lease, which now runs through 2034, she said.
The large concrete supports holding up the new section of highway limited the number of new spaces that could be created, leaving a net gain of just 17 additional spaces, Woodward said.
Lighting was a key element because the new overpass shades the area more than before. Removal of the buildings — which were derelict and attracted vagrants — combined with the better lighting help make the area feel safer and more attractive, Woodward said.
The lots will offer longer-term parking — 10 hours versus 2 hours for street parking — to encourage use by employees of area businesses and shoppers planning longer visits.
Eight parking payment stations, like those placed around the downtown in recent months, were installed Wednesday.
“This is technology that the city should have switched to 10 years ago,” city employee Carl Collins said as he finished work on the stations.
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@Non_Safety City Worker:
I am well aware of the Downtown Parking District Tax Assesment District. I paid into it for many years.
The parking meter money and the garage fees go into the district. The parking ticket fines go into the general fund.
There *IS* a tax assessed to the Downtown property owners as well. That money also goes into the district fund.
With respect, your information is wrong on that point.
@Chris – and yet it is Whitman, not Brown who has said that she will protect Police and Fire pensions…
@Bob – the only thing that Ours, Bartley and Hernandez and Public Safety agreed to was to sit down and discuss pensions after the elections
@Dave – There is a downtown parking district that has been set up to provide for downtown parking. The money for this comes from parking meters and garage fees, not taxes.
bikie boulevards? its just a typo but I like the sound of it!
@Chris and @Scott Baley:
No argument from me about pension issues. However, the money that the City uses comes from all of us. That money then gets put into seperate accounts that the City claims it can’t touch. To that, I say BS! Tax money needs to be prioritized right now. We don’t need more parking lots…we need Police and Fire at full strength.
There are NO excuses to rotating closures of fire stations when we are funding bikie boulevards and parking lots.
@Chris Ours, Bartley and Hernandez are the folks who made a sweetheart deal with the public safety officers in Santa Rosa. They negotiated a backroom deal before they even had the election. That’s why the cops are funding hit pieces on Mayor Gorin. She and the current (democratic) City Council wouldn’t give in to them. So if you are looking for someone to blame for the salaries and pensions here, Chris look at the “Pro Business” slate of Ours, Hernandez and Bartley.
@ Dave Madigan
Although I believe this to be a misuse of public funds, dont confuse the lack of funding for police anf fire for missappropriatoin of the general fund.
The lack of police and fire funds is directly related to the egregious pay, pension and benefit packages that the men and women in those positions recieve.
Unfortunetly the tax payers of Sonoma County will long see a solution to this problem because the democrats who hold majority at state, county and city levels are beholden to the public union agenda.
@Dave -
It is being paid for from parking revenue. The problem with police funding isn’t revenue, it is the pensions they are bilking us for. They get up to 90% of their often six digit salaries when they retire and they do not even pay one cent toward the pension contributions.
Good to see a long term lot open up for RRSQ! Glad the council is continuing to supporting local business downtown. This should free up street parking from employees so customers can get into the retail shops.
$750,000 for this parking lot but we don’t have money for police or fire? Give me a break!