Pull into a parking space in Ketchum and you're occupying for free a parcel of land valued at $79,000.
But without parking places, how would people get their errands done and patronize local businesses? Take handy parking away, and the elderly and other less-mobile residents and visitors could be inconvenienced to the point of shopping elsewhere.
The issue of parking loomed large last week when the Ketchum City Council, Mayor Randy Hall and several department heads discussed myriad issues during a two-day work session in Mackay. The city is trying to respond to citizens' complaints of insufficient downtown parking for shoppers, workers and tourists.
"I didn't spend half my life thinking about parking until I started having to make some decisions about it," said Councilman Ron Parsons.
The meeting was facilitated by economic development consultant Tom Hudson, who had been under contract with the city to help develop a downtown master plan. He is currently under an exclusive contract with Ketchum to head its Community Development Corporation.
This is not the first time the city has addressed parking. In 2004, a parking master plan was compiled, then largely ignored.
Hudson, in drafting the downtown master plan, incorporated some aspects of that parking plan into the new document.
Parking garages have their fans, but besides the fact that some of them are unsightly, they are extremely expensive.
"We've done a thorough investigation in your town and we totally agree with the last (study)," Hudson said. "You don't need a parking structure."
"As long as citizens aren't thinking about paying for this kind of stuff, they say, 'Why don't you build more parking?'"
The city is not considering, in the short-term anyway, constructing a parking garage downtown.
"Creating inventory goes against everything I've been learning about transportation demand management," said Mayor Randy Hall.
Parking spaces could, however, be included in other projects, such as affordable housing/mixed-use buildings.
But "construction of major parking facilities in the downtown core is not a priority at this time," Councilman Steven Shafran said.
The downtown master plan states that free parking is not a right, but it notes that the city should develop and promote alternative transportation methods. In conjunction with that, the city should provide safe, well-lit sidewalks and other incentives to get people walking.
If free parking is not a right, then, should paid parking be implemented?
"I would vote for it if it was going to solve some of our parking problems," said Councilwoman Terry Tracy, "not for the fact that it brought in X amount of dollars."
Hudson replied that towns that put in meters, and had reliable public transportation options, saw double-digit increases in public transit use.
"I've heard conflicting reports on how it works ... (and) if it makes your town more unfriendly than it already is," Tracy said. "I've had people (from other towns) tell me they've put it in and taken it out. I don't think we have enough information on how it's paying off in comparable towns."
The average person parks for less than one hour, Hudson said, so if meters were installed that allowed one hour for free, the impact would be lessened.
"We all know this is a double-edged blade," Hudson said. "People will call you and say, 'I hate it, and I hate you.'"
One advantage to parking meters, Hudson said, is that grants may be more available to towns that use them.
"In the grant world, they'll say, 'What are you doing to improve your own transportation system?'" he said. "Paid, on-street parking is a transportation-demand management tool. It's not going to make everyone happy, but I think it will pay us back in that way."
The city of Aspen, Colo., established fee parking and saw bus ridership increase 35 percent, according to estimates in the downtown master plan. Downtown parking occupancy dropped from 98 percent to 67 percent without apparent loss of business, the plan states.
The city of Ketchum recently completed a parking inventory. The core has 3,284 parking spaces, including private slots. Hudson said that number is high compared with other towns of Ketchum's size.
On the flip side, each block has a low number of parking spaces, but since the core is so large, the high number of parking spaces doesn't translate into efficient parking.
The master plan also notes that there is little incentive for motorists parking long term to park outside high-demand areas.
On the contrary, the study states, the current situation makes it easy to park long term in short-term spots: parking tickets are cheap, people can easily get away with moving their cars every two hours in zones that mandate that and the pedestrian environment is not conducive to walking.
Enhanced periphery parking and a shuttle system could provide incentives to park outside the core.
The downtown master plan addresses one thing the parking master plan did not: parking supply and demand.
"The first step is to get the employees out (of the core's spaces) to see if we have a parking problem, or the extent of it," Hall said. "How much money do we want to throw at a problem we might not have?"
Coming Wednesday: Can Ketchum provide its own power?
Ketchum Planning Director Harold Moniz puts brainstormed ideas to paper during a work session Aug. 15 and 16 at Wild Horse Creek Ranch near Mackay. The City Council and mayor debated and ranked issues such as parking, affordable housing, streetscape improvements and ordinance revisions, giving city officials a work schedule over the next year and beyond. Council members Steven Shafran, left, and Terry Tracy look on. Express photo by Rebecca Meany.
