RM 10-03-75 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

10. QUESTIONS ON PARKING (Cont'd town merchants association, or whatever. A lot of people come downtown who don't shop and they go in and visit an accountant, attorney, doctor, etc., and could park there. Basically, I would say, the percentage of all day pa kers would be forced out. This is true, because if you look at those lots at 8:00 a.m., or 8:30 a.m., they are pretty well filled up, and your sh ppers certainly are not down here at 8:30 in the morning. The parking situation is not a simple problem. There really is not a lack of parking sp ces in the downtown area; there are adequate spaces available. Commissioner Wiggins said if the people are willing to pay to park, there are available spaces to park. Mr. Hubert Getzinger, Chairman, Downtown South Bend Council, said he knows the parking situation is quite a problem, and he just happened to scan over this proposal by Mr. Slafkosky, and "I think it is something interesting and we would want to present this to the Parking Committee .and let them make some decisions. There are conflicting points of view here. I think that possibly these things have to be worked out because if we provide all the space that is now being paid for and provide it on a free basis, I believe it will affect the income on the City parking garages. This will be another point that will have to be studied, and I think that the program is very well put and it is a very good idea. I would want to turn it over to the Parking Committee." Mr. Brownell said that was his point in bring up the fact that a proposal was submitted to the Mayor yesterday and that both of these proposals sh uld be put together and studied out by the same people and come up with a recommendation. Commissioners agreed. Mr. Getzinger said they are looking for ideas. The Parking Committee wants all the information that they can get to try to come up with some solution. As Lloyd says, that is a problem that is not easily solved. It takes a lot of work and we hope that we will be able to do something about it. Mr. Butler advised in reference to Mr. Soltesz comments that he would suggest or submit that really the Commission is not the body that should make the overall policy determination as to parking. "I think that we should comply and work with the Board of Public Works, or whomever in the City administration is going to assume that responsibility. The deci- silons cannot and should not be made here." Commissioner Wiggins said some of the people have a lack of total informa- tion of what has happened and they see the fact that there were once buildings on the properties that are now gone and they see that and feel that the property did pay some taxes and it did, and it is now on the public rollsand tax exempt, but they fail to take into account the fact that the assessable value of the downtown area has more than doubled as a result of the redevelopment activities, and that were it not for the redevelopment activities, most of these things would not have happened, and so that on the net balance there has been a tremendous improvement here. Mr. Soltesz said, "Your membership and mine is not knocking this at all; we both come from the same membership. What they are knocking is th fact that when they come downtown, as Jeanne said, when the people