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Hiring point person among parking study suggestions Friday Dec 2, 2016 at 8:27 PM Dec 2, 2016 at 8:27 PM By Julie Akins For the Tidings The city of Ashland should hire a parking czar and encourage city and downtown employees to park elsewhere, according to two major recommendations emerging out of a 36-month parking plan study unveiled Thursday night.  Rick Williams Consulting put the proposal together for the city. The forum, co-hosted by the city and the Ashland Chamber of Commerce at the Ashland Hills Hotel & Suites, was the first official unveiling of the plan before citizens. It will go through the city’s parking advisory and transportation committee as well as the full council before adoption.  Among the suggestions presented is the hiring of a centralized parking official who enacts policies and acts as a point person. Another is to create incentives for workers to not to take up spaces by offering free bikes and transit passes.  Another possibility would be paid on-street parking with meters which allow up to a day stay in a parking spot. “We need longer-term spaces for people going to plays and dinner. When I used to visit I wanted a place I could park for up to 10 hours so I could see plays and eat dinner without having to worry. Maybe we could create longer term parking by the theater,” said Barbara Ricketts, a former tourist and now full-time resident of Ashland.  There are 1,972 parking spaces in downtown Ashland, according to the city’s website. Through the course of the peak tourist season, Ashland accommodates about 300,000 visitors, roughly 15 times its full-time resident population. It’s during that time when parking becomes an issue.  The plan encourages metered parking as well as shared parking with local businesses after hours, better branding of existing parking areas and also looking at possible places to create more parking lots and garages.  The consulting firm suggested only building more parking when every other idea has been tried. They estimate the cost for a parking structure in excess of $8 million dollars and the report said they are not always fully occupied.  However, the presentation indicated as many as 50 possible parking lot sites for evaluation within the first 18 months of the plan. It also suggested not building any new structures until parking is at 85 percent capacity.  Several audience members asked if an electric trolley is part of the three-year plan, but it’s not at the present time. “An electric trolley would need to be connected to parking on both ends and run on a frequency schedule in line with where people want to go,” said Williams.  Roy Sutton of Ashland identified himself as an advocate of a downtown shuttle. “Eugene got a federal grant for $3 million. What about Ashland getting a grant?” Williams indicated that having a point person to consider those options and apply for them would be a good idea. “Lots of cities have lobbyists,” he said.  When asked about loading zones, the consultant answered that this issue had been settled by the current plan. “We didn’t put loading zones in this plan because it’s already in the city’s parking advisory committee plan.”  The advisory committee suggested dedicating parking areas for loading and unloading in off-peak hours to avoid large trucks blocking lanes throughout the day.  The city will continue analyzing suggestions outlined in the parking plan and will continue to accept public input. Parking will be reviewed by the city’s parking advisory committee and eventually the council which will take future input prior to it being adopted in any form.  Thursday’s discussion was aimed at involving the public early on in the suggestion phase. Email Ashland freelance writer Julie Akins at [email protected] and follow her on Twitter at twitter.com/@julieakins.