Scott Swanson
Of The New Era
Solving parking issues is a critical ingredient for the success of a business district and is a step toward moving Sweet Home in that direction, one of the architects of Albany’s downtown revitalization effort told a group of local leaders and business people last week.
Rick Rogers, director of the Albany Downtown Association, spoke to the Sweet Home Economic Development Association’s Breakfast Club on Wednesday, June 6, about Albany’s downtown experience and, especially, its parking problems and solutions. He also talked about some of Sweet Home’s problems with empty storefronts downtown and suggested some solutions that have worked in Albany.
Rogers reviewed the history of Albany’s downtown, which began losing stores in the 1960s and ’70s after Fred Meyer built its first megastore outside the Portland area on the east end of Albany. Then, when Heritage Mall was built, Sears, Wards and JC Penney moved out of the downtown area, prompting an exodus of many of the businesses.
“What was left in the downtown was a lot of mom and pops,” Rogers said, and “many empty storefronts.”
He said a major issue in Albany was downtown parking. Merchants, including Rogers himself, complained that on-street parking often wasn’t available, making it less convenient for customers to get to them.
“There was no parking enforcement,” he said. “Consequently, everybody parked in front of everybody else’s business. It was a never-ending problem and it was happening all over (downtown) Albany.”
Downtown business owners finally banded together to form the Albany Business Association and come up with a solution to that and other problems. They got the city to give them $25,000 in seed money and formed the Parkwise Parking District, a self-sustaining and privately operated parking enforcement effort that has since become a model for other cities looking for solutions to parking problems. In fact, Rogers said, they’ve trademarked the name.
Other factors have contributed to the resurgence of Albany’s downtown to the point that, he said, there are almost no empty storefronts left and the city will soon have a seven-story building on its waterfront, a five-story senior apartment complex, four new restaurants (in addition to several that have just opened) and, he predicted, will one day have a three-story parking garage.
But, Rogers said, solving the parking issues was key to making it all happen.
Parking District officials developed rules that were drafted into city ordinances, giving them authority to enforce the law.
“You can have all the rules you want, but they’re not worth anything if you don’t have enforcement,” he said. “You need three-hour parking (spaces) but they need to be enforced.”
Nearly all on-street parking in downtown Albany is limited to customers, either for three hours or for 30 minutes. Employees at the county courthouse or City Hall are required to park in lots, for which they can get passes. Merchants are required to register their employees, who also get passes to park in lots around the downtown.
“The idea is to keep people, except for customers, off the streets in front of businesses,” Rogers said.
The district is funded by parking tickets ($5 for customers, $25 for employees who work downtown). The parking enforcer has a device linked to a computer on which he can keep track of offenders, particularly the habitual ones. Special passes are available for employees who need to frequently run in and out of businesses, but they have to make a case for one before they can get it, he said. Those who get tickets can appeal them to the Parkwise Reconciliation Board, one of the members of which is Sheriff’s Deputy Joanne McQueary of Sweet Home.
“It’s meant to be punitive,” Rogers said of the system. “Believe me, (violators) will learn their lesson fast if they start getting tickets.”
He said that Sweet Home’s parking problems are “difficult,” with a divided main street that is four lanes wide and private, rather than city-owned, parking lots. He said striping the parallel parking areas would help solve some of the problems caused when poorly parked cars block out potential parking for others.
“I think it’s more important than ever to keep customer-only parking on Main Street,” he said.
Rogers said that reviving a downtown such as Albany or Sweet Home’ requires “recruitment, recruitment, recruitment.”
“The answer to empty storefronts is you don’t wait for them to come to you,” he said. He said he looks for certain types of businesses to move in when a building opens up in the downtown area, businesses that he feels will complete the mix the town needs.
Rogers said the second thing the downtown needs is promotions, something to generate foot traffic to businesses.
He said nearly every weekend during the summer has an event scheduled in downtown Albany. For instance, the Hoop Jam that has been held for years in Corvallis is moving to Albany this summer.
“That brings 2,000 kids and their parents into Albany,” he said.
The following weekend is the River Gone Wild barbecue cookoff, which will attract contestants from around the nation – and the Food Channel.
Also back this year is the Albany Timber Carnival, which, like the old days, will take place partly in the downtown area.
“This didn’t happen overnight,” he said. “You’ve got to start somewhere. Everybody has got to get involved. Knock on your neighbor’s door and say, ‘This is what we’ve got going.'”
He said that in Sweet Home’s downtown, something as simple as a sidewalk sale would be a start and that local businesses must take advantage of the Oregon Jamboree and the crowds it brings to Sweet Home.
He said that attracting the kinds of businesses Sweet Home needs will require participation from landlords who, he said, “have a vested interest” in seeing their buildings occupied.
He said that antique stores are a must.
“When people check into a motel, the first thing they ask is where they can eat. The second thing they ask is where the antique stores are,” he said. “You have to promote yourself as a specialty shopping district.”