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Daytime parking will be cheaper Mail Tribune / Drew Fleming Volk Steel Erector employees Joe Church, left, of Central Point and Brian Ferguson of Klamath Falls wrangle a steel I-beam into place Wednesday morning on top of Ashland's nearly complete parking structure. ASHLAND - Evening parking will cost up to three times more than daytime charges in this city's first multilevel, pay parking structure. The City Council on Tuesday approved charging $1 to park anytime up to 6 p.m. in the garage off Hargadine Street. After that the rate will be $1 per hour, with a $3 maximum. "In the short run we want to put the facility to maximum occupancy," said City Administrator Greg Scoles. The lot is set to open in mid-July. The three-level building is next to a new theater under construction for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. It will serve other theaters in the area as well as restaurants, retail businesses and downtown employees. Council members approved a management plan that allows the city manager to adjust rates based on parking demand. Drivers will find a parking space, then purchase tickets for dashboard display at automated pay stations on all three levels. The pay stations will accept coins, bills or credit cards. Diamond Parking Services will provide enforcement. The parking structure's operation is expected to cost $60,533 each year. Personnel, maintenance, utilities, debt service and repairs are included in the figure. Fees are expected to yield $41,790 to $79,940 annually. The structure will provide 145 parking spaces when fully operational. Initially only the first two levels will be used. OSF will use the third level for construction staging while it finishes the theater. The parking structure is a collaboration between the city and OSF, but the city will own and operate it. The city leased land to the festival for the theater and parking structure. Previously, 84 parking spaces were available at the same location. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.