Month: October 2013

Parking meters? Not yet

Posted on by Julia Havens

Free zone still benefits downtown Eugene

Editorial response from The Register-Guard
(to article ‘Council rethinks free parking’)
Published:

Downtown Eugene is healthier than it has been in years, but it’s not so healthy that the shops, restaurants and services in the city’s core can afford to chase people away. That would be the result of reinstalling parking meters next to 288 parking spaces downtown where people can currently park for free. The Eugene City Council should extend the free parking program, giving the downtown area’s clear trend toward revitalization more time to take firm root.

On Monday the council discussed allowing the free parking program to expire next Jan. 15 after a four-year run. The primary motive would be financial — putting meters back in the free-parking zone would generate an estimated $290,000 a year for a city that is facing acute budgetary pressures. The zone extends from Seventh to 11th avenues between Willamette and Lincoln streets.

Before the free-parking program, complaints about the expense and aggravation of parking downtown were regular features of The Register-Guard’s letters-to-the-editor columns. The most common story had to do with finding a parking ticket because the time on a meter had expired a few minutes before the driver had returned. Almost invariably, the complaints would end with a vow to shop at a mall next time.

Those complaints have all but disappeared, and their absence has a value that’s hard to calculate. Clearly, the free parking program has eliminated one common and enduring cause of ill-will. For downtown merchants, it must have felt as though a long-lasting headache has suddenly cleared. The number of people spending time and money in downtown Eugene is increasing, but those who do business in the area still need every potential customer they can get.

It’s clear that people will pay to park in and around downtown — there are more parking spaces with meters outside the zone than there are free spaces inside it, and on most days there’s a charge for parking in one of the city’s parking garages. Knowing that there’s a possibility of finding a free on-street parking spot, however, lessens the sting of having to feed the meter a few blocks away. And even though it’s surrounded by paid parking, the free parking zone sends a subtle but important message: Downtown Eugene intends to welcome visitors, not milk them for every quarter in their pockets.

San Francisco has no downtown free parking zone. Neither does Portland. People complain about the cost of parking in both cities — but they go to their downtowns anyway. They go because they want to, or because they must. Eugene hasn’t reached the point where the desire to go downtown is so strong, or the need to go is so great, that parking spaces would be full whether they’re metered or not.

That day may be coming soon, as the number of people living in and around downtown rises and the mix of services and retail outlets broadens. At that point, meters would become less important as a means of raising revenue than as a way to ensure turnover in short-term parking spaces.

But for now, the free parking program helps reinforce the other investments Eugene has made and is making downtown — investments that include various types of subsidies for developers whose tenants depend on a steady stream of visitors to the area. It’s important that those visitors feel welcome. The city hasn’t reached the point where it can afford to undercut that message by imposing a cost and an inconvenience, even a minor one.

Community Planning Workshop Report:
>>  SEARCHING FOR A SPACE: An Analysis of Eugene’s Free Parking Policy

Goldhill Welcomes Water Quality Program Intern: Nicolas Lennartz

Posted on by Julia Havens

RARE Participant year 20The city of Gold Hill has some help in managing its water resources.

Nicolas Lennartz has started his 11-month internship as the city’s new water quality improvement manager. The Portland native and former Western Washington University student – where he majored in urban planning and policy management – started the internship on Sept. 9.

“It’s a big change for me,” Lennartz said. Making the transition from Portland to Gold Hill, however, hasn’t been a major issue. Lennartz has been spending his time acclimating to the area and “learning the lay of the land.” He likes it here. “It’s a beautiful area and it’s so rich in many resources. That’s why,” he said, “I’m here.”

Lennartz is part of AmeriCorps’ Resource Assistance for Rural Environments (RARE) program. RARE AmeriCorps members have a variety of backgrounds and bring to their communities a wide range of experiences, he said. In addition, members receive training in areas such as citizen involvement, outreach and communication, land-use planning, grant writing, project management and necessary computer skills. “I get a monthly stipend for living expenses,” he said. “So, the city doesn’t pay me.”

Lennartz had heard of the RARE program from an old friend of his. “She was in the program and talked about it a lot,” he said. “I applied and was accepted. Then, when Gold Hill applied for a RARE intern, I was eventually matched up with the city.”

Lennartz’s work is in response to a University of Oregon Community Planning Workshop (CPW) hosted by the Gold Hill. In a statement from city manager Rick Hohnbaum, he said that after after extensive studies and community input, the CPW created a five-year plan for improving the quality of surface water runoff using such concepts as installing rain gardens in sensitive areas, riparian restoration using native foliage, educational outreach to local schools and interpretive park trails. They also proposed low-impact development code amendments for review by city councilors, which allow greater flexibility for future development.

Lennartz said he plans to apply a combination of these concepts to improve recreation access and opportunities for residents and visitors, raise awareness for water quality issues and improve the health of the ecosystem for fish, wildlife and people.

“Part of my job will call for outreach programs to both the public and the schools,” he said. “It’s all about education. Awareness. Getting the people involved – I mean, this is their water. It’s important that they become part of the process in managing it.”

He said he’ll be working with other agencies, including the Rogue Valley Council of Governments, Dept. of Environmental Quality, the Seven Basins Watershed Council and others. “I also hope that we can get volunteers involved as well,” Lennartz said. “I mean, from landowners who want to manage their property with more water sensitivity to townspeople wanting to help to plant local trees or even volunteers at events or simply offer new ideas.”

“Nicolas is providing a very valuable service to the city and the region while gaining experience with community outreach, state agencies and non-profits seeking the common goal of a safe and healthy Rogue River,” Hohnbaum said. “He’s bringing a level of service and commitment on behalf of the City in addressing water quality issues and protecting the Rogue River which our limited staff resources could ever provide.

In the meantime, Lennartz wants people to know that he’s “always  accessible” to anyone who wants to talk to him. “My door is always open,” he said.

For additional information or to volunteer for water quality improvement projects in Gold Hill, Nicolas Lennartz may be reached at 541-855-1525 or via email at wqic@ci.goldhill.or.us.

By Brad Smith
Reprinted with the permission of The Rogue River Press, Valley Pride Publications
www.rogueriverpress.com
8991 Rogue River Hwy • P.O. Box 1485 , Rogue River, OR
541.582.1707