Make downtown parking an asset

By The Gazette Editorial Board

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Next month, the City Council will decide whether to transfer oversight of the downtown parking system to the private, non-profit Cedar Rapids Downtown District. It's a big change, but based on what's best for taxpayers and for accelerated economic development downtown, we think it's the right move.

Without a change, the trendlines are troubling for taxpayers. A decade of revenue losses for the system has erased a $14 million parking fund surplus. Without a shake-up, it's estimated that the system will lose $1 million in 2011, a loss that will have to be covered by tax dollars.

The system's facilities are deteriorating due to years of delayed maintenance. Existing parking space has been underutilized, with waiting lists for facilities that appear to have dozens of empty spots. Personnel costs have risen steadily, outpacing industry averages, while revenues fell.

Doug Neumann, who leads the Downtown District, says a private, professionally managed system can turn a $305,000 profit in 2011. Under the pending agreement with the city, the district would hire a professional management firm to run the system under district oversight. The city would continue to own the system's assets.

Revenues, Neumann said, would be plowed back into improvements. On top of that, the city would commit to $4 million in deferred maintenance projects over the next four years. Parking rate increases won't be considered until motorists actually see tangible benefits from improvements in the system.

The district's goal is to make downtown parking a “non-event” for workers, customers and patrons of downtown entertainment venues instead of a discouraging hassle.

The district is also determined to make parking an economic development asset instead of a barrier. Available parking can make or break efforts to lure new businesses downtown. And some of the system's revenues would be plowed into a parking incentives fund administered by the city to make parking pitches to business prospects.

Change won't be easy. Six city employees working in the system face the prospect of lower wages, a lost job or a transfer within city government. Every effort should be made to smooth that transition.

And, clearly, the new arrangement won't work without solid lines of communication between the district and city leaders. We're glad the proposed agreement calls for regular audits of the system and sets out a list of performance measurements. For example, the district-managed system will be expected to show annual revenue growth of at least 1 percent, while also boosting taxable valuation growth downtown by 5 percent annually. Waiting lists must shrink and the number of filled commercial spaces downtown must grow.

Those are tall orders, which will be tough to meet. But it would be impossible without a change.