San Jose officials considering end to downtown free parking
By John Woolfolk
Mercury News
Article Launched: 06/11/2007 12:28:14 PM PDT
San Jose's nine-year effort to boost downtown nightlife with free evening parking may come to an end as early as next month, with city officials calling it a victim of its own success.
Parties, fights, vandalism and even races have broken out in public garages where parking is now free after 6 p.m. and on weekends or holidays. So the city council on Tuesday will consider approving a $5 parking fee after 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday to discourage partying there.
The council also will consider a separate $2 parking fee after 6 p.m. at those garages and some public lots, aimed at encouraging private lots near clubs and theaters to stay open. Currently, many private lots close because they can't compete with free public parking.
The two proposals wouldn't take effect at the same time: The $5 fee would start July 1 and last for six months, with revenues paying for extra policing and cleaning. The $2 program would start next January and help pay to develop more parking lots.
But either proposal would end San Jose's free evening parking program, begun in 1998 to help the city's struggling downtown nightclub and restaurant scene compete with the suburbs.
The end of free parking didn't sit well with downtown visitors in the busy Market Street garage late Thursday evening.
Cognac bottles, cigarette butts, pizza crusts and fast-food takeout bags littered almost every floor of the garage, and the stairwells reeked
of beer and urine. But Bill Ashby Jr. and Mike Phillips, both of San Jose, say they've never seen trouble in the garage, which they frequently use.
And Ashby said a fee would be bad for downtown businesses. "That would destroy a lot of these places."
Fearing just that sort of reaction, downtown business leaders initially balked at ending free parking when it was proposed a year ago. But many have since warmed to the idea. With patrons often forced to circle in search of parking near restaurants, clubs and theaters, business owners realized they would be better off with low-cost nearby parking than free parking many blocks away.
.....
Also poised to mix up San Jose's nightlife scene is an experiment that would let downtown bars stay open an extra hour to 3 a.m. so patrons don't flood the streets soon after last call. The council will consider that "soft closing" proposal June 19.
By John Woolfolk
Mercury News
Article Launched: 06/11/2007 12:28:14 PM PDT
San Jose's nine-year effort to boost downtown nightlife with free evening parking may come to an end as early as next month, with city officials calling it a victim of its own success.
Parties, fights, vandalism and even races have broken out in public garages where parking is now free after 6 p.m. and on weekends or holidays. So the city council on Tuesday will consider approving a $5 parking fee after 10 p.m. Thursday through Saturday to discourage partying there.
The council also will consider a separate $2 parking fee after 6 p.m. at those garages and some public lots, aimed at encouraging private lots near clubs and theaters to stay open. Currently, many private lots close because they can't compete with free public parking.
The two proposals wouldn't take effect at the same time: The $5 fee would start July 1 and last for six months, with revenues paying for extra policing and cleaning. The $2 program would start next January and help pay to develop more parking lots.
But either proposal would end San Jose's free evening parking program, begun in 1998 to help the city's struggling downtown nightclub and restaurant scene compete with the suburbs.
The end of free parking didn't sit well with downtown visitors in the busy Market Street garage late Thursday evening.
Cognac bottles, cigarette butts, pizza crusts and fast-food takeout bags littered almost every floor of the garage, and the stairwells reeked
of beer and urine. But Bill Ashby Jr. and Mike Phillips, both of San Jose, say they've never seen trouble in the garage, which they frequently use.
And Ashby said a fee would be bad for downtown businesses. "That would destroy a lot of these places."
Fearing just that sort of reaction, downtown business leaders initially balked at ending free parking when it was proposed a year ago. But many have since warmed to the idea. With patrons often forced to circle in search of parking near restaurants, clubs and theaters, business owners realized they would be better off with low-cost nearby parking than free parking many blocks away.
.....
Also poised to mix up San Jose's nightlife scene is an experiment that would let downtown bars stay open an extra hour to 3 a.m. so patrons don't flood the streets soon after last call. The council will consider that "soft closing" proposal June 19.
