Newspaper Page Text
Parkin’ Downtown
Is Another Deck Needed?
A new county-funded study of downtown
parking says there's no 'true shortage" of places
to park, only that the available spaces are 'lo
cated farther away than some people are will
ing to walk." But that's apparently justification
enough to build a multi-million dollar parking
deck next to the Georgia Theatre. The report
even states that its purpose is "to help validate
the ne?d for building a
575-space parking deck
in downtown Athens,”
rather than determine
whether such a deck is
needed. The project has
already been approved
for sales-tax funding by
a citizens committee,
and was initially justified
by an earlier 2004 study
of downtown parking—but that study also con
cluded that downtown has a "surplus' of parking
spaces, not a shortage.
The new study puts the surplus at 800 park
ing spaces, although it says "we understand that
some of these surplus spaces may not be in ideal
locations." Kathryn Lookofsky, director of the
Athens Downtown Development Authority—the
board of property owners, merchants and county
officials which, among other things, runs down
town parking, and gets a 15-percent cut of
fees—tells Flagpole that parking is a number-
one complaint of visitors. "There is a surplus of
parking on the outskirts of downtown, but a lot
of people don't want to park on. say. Dougherty
Street and walk to the shops on Broad," she says.
And more deck parking would free up existing
surface parking lots for new development, she
says: "That would be a better use for that land
than a parking lot."
The county study says that visitors may fail to
find the existing parking decks because they're
not well-marked. Adding signs would therefore
improve traffic circulation downtown, it says.
'Some motorists may circle the block to find an
on-street parking space when a surface lot or ga
rage may be within a block." And traffic tickets
and fines are too low to discourage violators, the
study says. "The existing rate structure encour
ages everyone to use on-street parking since it is
less expensive than parking in the garage." UGA
st oents are "actually a big user of our parking
downtown," lookofsky says. "It's a lot cheaper
to park downtown than it is on campus, even if
you get a parking ticket," she points out. "We
try to keep the on-street parking cleared up for
customers and shoppers," but some merchants
and downtown employees
prefer to park on-street
themselves—and some
abuse the system by re
moving the chalk marks
that meter cops put on
tires to see if cars are
parked for too long.
The study suggests
increasing violation fines
from S3 to S10, and
increasing all-day deck parking from S5 to S8.
Reducing the design of the new deck from 575
cars to 375 or 475 should also be considered, it
says. The parking deck on College Avenue some
times fills up all of its 337 spaces, lookofsky
says, and there are also public parking decks at
the ACC Courthouse and at the Classic Center.
% John Huie iphuie@attiens net
Survey Says...
City Looks in Mirror
A survey of residents conducted for Athens-
Clarke's update of its comprehensive land-use
plan suggests that most residents—or at least
those who returned the questionnaire—are pretty
happy with their city. Twice as many residents
believe that things in Athens-Clarke County are
heading in the "right" as opposed to the "wrong"
direction, according to Rich Clark of UGA's Carl
The new study puts the surplus at
800 parking spaces, although it
says ‘‘we understand that some
of these surplus spaces may not
be in ideal locations.”
It's only an idea at this stage and to be fair the elected officials haven t had a chance to talk *t over yet But yeah the
suggestion s been officially made to raise both parking meter prices and parking ticket fees
Vinson Institute, which conducted the survey.
Still, over a third said they aren't sure which,
and those with less education were the least
satisfied. Clark sketched the results at a joint
meeting June 11 of the ACC Planning Commission
with the steering committee that is updating the
land-use plan (also known as the "comp plan").
Some 11,000 four-page questionnaires were
distributed to parents of elementary-school chil
dren, and many more citizens filled out the sur
vey on-line, but Clark's results were based on the
347 questionnaires returned (out of 2000 mailed)
as part of a randomized survey, he said.
Most of the questions asked people to check
boxes for statements they agreed with, but there
were also a few open-ended questions. Asked
"what do you like best about Athens-Clarke
County." most people picked Athens' music,
entertainment or cultural opportunities. In ad
dition, "We had a lot of responses saying, T like
the small-town feel,’" Clark said. "That phrase,
in fact, came up again and again." To some
people, the county's government is its best fea
ture. "I was shocked to see government come
up as something people liked best." Clark said.
"Rarely does government show up in these sorts
of answers." UGA, the Classic Center, and the
State Botanical Garden were also praised. And
two citizens thought the best thing about Athens
was its mayor, Heidi Davison. Asked about their
favorite thing to do, more people wrote in "walk
ing" than anything else, followed by sports and
cultural events. As for identifying problems, pov
erty, transportation and jobs were neck-and-neck
as "the three most important issues facing (ACC]
today." Asked where transportation improvement
money should go, most checked improving or
widening local roads. Better bus service was also
popular, followed by bike lanes and pedestrian
facilities. The ACC Fire Department and the ACC
Library got top ratings for "good" or "excellent"
service; at the other end of the scale, most
thought roads, sidewalks and bikeways—and
public schools—were only "fair" or "poor." Asked
where they get information about the local
government, citizens mostly checked the Athens
Banner-Herald or "word of mouth," followed by
Flagpole, the Red and Black, and web, TV and
radio sources, along with "inserts in your water
bill." (However, Clark said. Flagpole led among
the 18-24 age bracket.)
The 10-year update of the ACC land-use plan
is in progress, and citizens have put in more
than 1000 hours in committee meetings to study
local issues like housing, transportation, land-
use, the environment, cultural resources and
economic development.
Chairpersons of those committees offered
summaries of their work last week. According
to Danny Sniff, a member of the committee on
government and public services, county staff
ers say that problems in their departments have
been acted on quickly by county managers. But
"the number-one issue that was identified and
generated the most comments and consterna
tion" among county staffers. Sniff said, "was the
need for regional coordination in terms of growth
of the surrounding counties.... The projected
development of the adjacent counties on the
Athens-Clarke County border—in our subcommit
tee's opinion—could have the greatest negative
impact on the quality of Athens-Clarke County."
The committee will have some suggestions for
solutions, too. he said.
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QenEtJpi
Airport
MON Me..
ATHENS AREA
HUMANE SOCIETY
(Cats. Rabbits. Birds, Etc.)
191 Alps Rd.
706-353-2287
athenshumanesociety.com
HOURS*
Mon-Thu 1PM-7PM / FR1 Closed
Sat 12-5PM / Sun IPM-5PM
ACC ANIMAL —^
CONTROL
(Dogs)
45 Beaverdam Rd.
706-613-3540
athensclarkecounty.com/an inakontrol
athenspets.net (to see available dogs)
HOURS*
Mon, Hie. Thu. Fri IOAM-4PM
Wed Closed / Sat, Sun 10AM-2PM
^SW**’*'*
ATHENS
SrPASS,
From ATHENS AREA HUMANE SOCIETY ACC ANIMAL
june 7 CONTROL
15 Cats Placed 34 Dogs Recede
June 3 2-r Dogs f
John Huie pbuieQafhens nff
A Kid Helps Out
Supporting the Troops
Seven-year-old Mason Bivins has a civic-
minded take on an old kid's cliche; the lemonade
stand. On Saturday, June 16, he was handing
out glasses of lemonade at 228 Dubose Ave. in
exchange for snacks, books and other goodies
to send off in care packages to soldiers from
Georgia who are serving in Iraq. (Customers also
gave cash to cover the shipping and handling
expenses.) But don't fret if you missed it: for
anyone who couldn't make it that day. Mason's
front porch is accepting donations until the end
of July.
Mason Bivins
"I was reading the Jack and Annie Civil War
book [Civil War >n Sunday, Magic Tree House 21],"
Mason explains, "and I thought about the sol
diers then and the soldiers now, and how needy
they are. I was looking for a project to do for
them, and I asked my mom to help."
According to his mom, Kelli Bivins, Mason
has always been a compassionate child, "looking
6 FLAGPOLE.COM • JUNE 20, 2007
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