Some ÃÛèÖÖ±²¥ Convention Center visitors are preferring to park on streets in the Barrio Viejo neighborhood than pay for parking at the facility — drawing complaints from the neighborhood.
A city-commissioned study found more than 150 vehicles parked in the neighborhood directly south of the TCC on a Sunday during an ice hockey game in early December despite there being more than 300 empty parking spots in the city-owned convention center’s lots.
City officials are considering lowering parking prices at the TCC in an effort to keep them in line with nearby private lots. The City Council is expected to decide at a future meeting on the price reduction.
A three-page memo from the city’s Director of Transportation Daryl Cole outlined a strategy to be implemented just before the start of the annual gem and mineral show, which draws large crowds to the convention center.
People are also reading…
Other measures include additional parking restrictions in select portions of the Barrio Viejo neighborhood, a push on social media and the internet to advertise where people can park near the TCC, increasing signage and expanding efforts to increase ridership on the Sun Link streetcar.
If those measures are not enough to address the parking issue, secondary plans call for diverting traffic away from Cushing Street during certain time periods.
Councilwoman Regina Romero said problems with overflow parking into adjacent neighborhoods is a growing problem, noting the gem show causes parking issues in portions of Ward 1 every year.
“It is happening more and more in downtown neighborhoods,†she said.
She is supportive of the plan to address the issue, noting she believes parking is expensive at the TCC.
Parking shouldn’t cost $10 at the TCC, she suggested, noting privately-owned nearby parking structures charge $5 a day.
Mayor Jonathan Rothschild said he knows the city has received complaints from Barrio Viejo about parking issues related to the TCC. He said the staff suggestions should help solve the problem.
But not everyone will be satisfied no matter what measures are implemented.
“People always complain that there is no parking downtown,†he said.
There is plenty of parking downtown, the mayor said, but people need to be prepared to pay more than a few coins in a meter and in some cases, be prepared to walk a little bit farther than they planned.
“The good news in that we are getting more and more people coming to TCC events,†he said.