Downtown business and property owners are concerned as growth continues to increase the need for parking in already congested blocks of Fifth, Sixth and Seventh streets, from SW Glacier to SW Black Butte avenues.

“(Lack of parking) pushes the pressure on us, downtown businesses, and sometimes we lose business,” said Suzanne Tarbet, owner of Red Martini Wine Bar and Grill. “Trying to find a solution for parking is a shared problem downtown.”

A parking structure has been a part of the downtown parking discussion since 2006, when the city contracted a “Downtown Parking Management Plan,” which is available on the city website. Recommendations from that plan called for the development of an off-street parking structure as a long term goal (5-10 years out from 2006).

With recent increased focus on parking downtown, it looks as if Redmond will see that recommendation come to fruition.

“I think this is a great opportunity for increased communication between everyone involved,” said Keith Witcosky, city manager. “My career has been about bringing people from distinct interests to a common ground. And I enjoy bringing people together.”

Varied response from the Oct. 5 Spokesman article about Redmond Proficiency Academy growth requested a view from the businesses downtown. Concerns mainly stem from the renovation of the McClay building (at the corner of SW Evergreen Avenue and SW Seventh Street) into a performing arts theater by RPA and future city plans to redevelop the current city hall into a family activity destination. Focus of downtown businesses include parking and future planning and business recruitment, with the intention of keeping downtown vibrant — not catering to only one demographic of downtown traffic. A common theme among businesses contacted was a call for thorough and open communication between the organizations downtown, mainly, a fostered discussion between RPA, the city and downtown businesses.

“These are not complex problems,” Witcosky said. “But what it’s going to take is people willing to speak openly on what they would like to see downtown. Conversations like these haven’t taken place since I’ve been here (three years). It’s been long enough, and we need to come together.”

Tarbet said the congested parking conditions have increased pressure on downtown businesses who largely rely on Sixth Street on-street parking and off-street parking lots located within a block of their business. She said that Old Creamery Antiques and both locations of Redmond Antique Mall plan to leave within six months.

Redmond Antique Mall plans to move to a location on State Highway 97, near Wilson’s Furniture. Tarbet said she would love to be a part of a group that directly addresses the parking issues downtown.

“I would like to see RPA, the city and businesses working together to solve our parking issues,” said Tarbet, whose had Red Martini downtown for almost four years. “It’s vital that we talk as a community downtown. There are always going to be challenges with a high school downtown, but the biggest challenge downtown is parking.”

Both John Bullock, executive director of RPA, and Witcosky have expressed an openness and willingness to sit down and hash things out, but that has yet to happen. Witcosky said he plans to schedule a forum for interested stakeholders in November, and hopes that, what he said was a very solvable issue, to be discussed in person.

Witcosky said that he expects competition to increase for parking downtown. Along with the performing arts theater and family activity destination, he said the Redmond Hotel has seen a few interested parties and expects development of the hotel to become a reality, possibly as soon as next year. He pointed out that it is the city’s job to foster discussions between all the stakeholders downtown about plans for parking and growth.

“All of us are living in the same house downtown,” Witcosky said. “I don’t think people are communicating downtown, and that is the city’s job to bring them together in a forum environment.”

Development downtown also includes many empty properties — some of which have been shuttered and left undeveloped for years, transit opportunities, and business retention and recruitment. The broad picture downtown presents a dynamic environment, of which Witcosky said every piece influences decisions made for the future of downtown.

“For years Redmond has been a stepchild to Bend, and we are finally breaking that mold,” Tarbet said. “People brag to me that they are traveling to downtown (from outside the area) to dine here and I would hate to see the work we’ve done go to waste because there is no parking.”

An inventory of downtown parking was completed in 2003 as well as a Downtown Parking Management Plan in 2006, which was updated in 2012 and provides an idea of the current parking conditions downtown.

The updated inventory showed 556 on-street parking spaces available within SW Glacier and SW Black Butte avenues and SW Ninth and SW Fourth streets. Off-street parking was found to have 1,212 space available in both private and public facilities.

Along Sixth Street, between Forest, Evergreen and Deschutes Avenues, daily parking use was around 84 percent, according to the 2012 update. But, nearly all other areas of the downtown core averaged below 50 percent, some below 35 percent. Of the 1,212 off-street parking spaces, about 600 were found unused, attributed to being under private control — of which 90 percent are private, according to the 2012 update. Private spaces are regulated based off owning business needs, which commonly prohibit parking to customers of said business only.

“Because of these restrictions, existing off-street facilities do not effectively serve downtown businesses as a whole,” the 2006 study states. The 2012 update refocused on unused off-street parking stalls, and stated them as a “strategic opportunity” to mitigate parking issues because the downtown core parking was found to be underutilized. Comparatively to Redmond’s 566 on-street parking spaces, Bend has 720 on-street parking spaces. The 2012 update proposed a combination of parking regulation and partnership with private off-street parking lots to increase available parking downtown.

“It’s important for everyone to want to find a harmonious solution downtown, and make Redmond as enjoyable and vibrant as possible,” Tarbet said.

Although parking spaces are available three or four blocks away, a shortage in the immediate vicinity of store fronts tends to drive off customers, literally, according to Tarbet. She presented a variety of potential solutions including parking regulation, but expressed having an open dialogue is what is necessary. Tarbet also said she didn’t know about RPA’s performing arts theater until after reading the Oct. 5 article, which frustrated her, as well as took her by surprise.

Witcosky said the city is working to identify a possible location for a parking structure, but needs community discussion beforehand. He also pointed out that he has always had an open door policy as city manager and Bullock has stated he is always willing to speak to concerned businesses downtown.

Having RPA downtown makes the demographics of pedestrian traffic multi-generational. A point brought up by both Tarbet and Witcosky, who both said respect needs to be given to that fact.

“I think there needs to be an appreciation that we are a multi generational community downtown, and it’s important for there to be a mutual respect there,” Witcosky said.

“I think it is exciting to have kids downtown, but there needs to be respected boundaries,” Tarbet said.

Witcosky hopes to talk about parking and growth downtown directly with everyone involved at the November forum, instead of hearing about issues second or sometimes third hand.

With the planned forum, and the city gearing up to officially begin developing a parking structure downtown, the next step is for each party to show up and have a professional discussion about changes, needs, and plans for the future of downtown.

“I’m confident that we can bring purpose to these conversations,” Witcosky said. “We will agree on somethings and agree to disagree on other things. But finding partnership and agreement in challenge is necessary.”

— Reporter, 541-548-2185, cbrown@redmondspokesman.com