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--> --> Workers place the first steel trusses Tuesday atop the OSF parking structure on Hargadine Street. Ashland Daily Tidings/DENISE BARATTA Hargadine lot parking rate OK'd by council By Myles Murphy Ashland Daily Tidings Fees at the new parking structure on Hargadine Street will begin low and then adjust according to use, but Ashland city councilors want to keep a close eye on the impact on parking in nearby neighborhoods when the three-level garage opens. The Ashland City Council Tuesday approved by title only a resolution adopting a parking management plan which calls for a charge of $1 a day until 6 p.m., then $1 per hour with a maximum of $3. At those rates, the garage is estimated to bring in between $3,500 and $6,500 per month. The operating expenses for the garage are estimated to be about $60,533 per year - about $5,044 per month. Paid parking opponent Colin Swales believes charging for parking at the new structure will set a dangerous precedent. "This is just the start of something that will obviously proliferate through the downtown," Swales told the council. Any form of paid parking in the downtown area will force people out to park in the free streets of the nearby neighborhoods, Swales said. He suggested some other form of funding for the garage upkeep, such as a special tax on downtown businesses or a tax on Oregon Shakespeare Festival theater tickets. He also asked the council to delay the decision on the paid parking until a residential neighborhood parking permit plan is considered. Councilor Cate Hartzell suggested the city monitor the impact on neighborhood parking when the garage begins to operate. Not satisfied with numbers presented by city staff, Hartzell also requested an update on the income and costs of the garage once operation is under way. "I'm uncomfortable with the lack of specificity on something we're being asked to vote on tonight," she said. The council voted unanimously for the parking plan, with Councilors Don Laws and David Fine absent. The council has consistently agreed that it intends the structure to pay for itself through parking fees. The money will offset the city's obligation to pay for about a third of the structure, roughly $750,000. The Festival is responsible for the other two-thirds of the cost. The first two levels of the 145-space, three-level lot are scheduled to be ready for cars in early June 2002, according to Ashland City Administrator Greg Scoles. The garage will operate on a pay-and-display system in which patrons first park, then purchase a ticket for an appropriate amount of time to display on their dashboards. The city is hoping for about an 85-percent occupancy rate. If the rate climbs much higher, the plan recommends looking at raising the cost. If the rate is much below 85 percent, the city will look at incentives to get more people in the lot. The council will continue discussion of fees, neighborhood permits and other parking issues at its next study session, noon Wednesday, July 18, at the Ashland Civic Center Council Chambers, 1175 E. Main St. Email your... Technical questions & comments to: WebMaster Daily Tidings editorial comments & questions to: Editor Visit our other Oregon Newspapers... | Albany Democrat-Herald | Ashland Daily Tidings | Corvallis Gazette-Times | | Lebanon Express | Newport News-Times | Springfield News | Cottage Grove Sentinel | Ashland Daily Tidings 1661 Siskiyou Blvd. Ashland, OR 97520 Telephone 541-482-3456 © Copyright 2001 Lee Northwest Publishing