Town Sees Increased Use of Parking Garages, Looks at Extending Meter Hours

When Blue Back Square opened in 2008, skeptics weren't sure that patrons would warm up to the two parking garages operated by the town. But usage of the garages has increased in each of the two full years they have been operating, even during a recession, Town Manager Ron Van Winkle said.

"We thought the recession would bring a decline in revenue, but it didn't," Van Winkle said. As the economy begins to recover, he said, the town has recently had a new experience: having to close a garage occasionally on weekends because it was full.

That may happen even more often if the Town Council agrees with Van Winkle's suggestion that the hours of the 500 or so parking meters around town be extended. The meters now must be fed from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through Saturday.

Van Winkle said he has been scouring the budget for ways to increase revenues during a difficult budget year and realized that the "center has changed" since the days when many businesses closed at 5 p.m.

"One hour [added to parking meters] generates $65,000 in additional revenue" per year, Van Winkle said, and would help the town to pay for the increased police presence needed during the busy restaurant hours in Blue Back Square and the Center.

As it stands now, some drivers will continue to put change in the two-hour meters to keep a spot until it becomes free at 8 p.m. Van Winkle said the system doesn't acknowledge the new reality of visitors staying well past 8 p.m. at the movie theater and restaurants.

"The street parking is meant to turn over a lot," he said. "If you're going to be there a long time, you park in a garage."

Van Winkle said the Blue Back developers looked to West Hartford in part because it already had a paid system of parking established.

The town decided to take out bonds and run the parking operation. The two garages — Isham Garage with 460 spaces and Memorial Garage with 540 spaces — generated a total of $1,555,769 in revenues in 2009 and a total of $1,649,533 in 2010.

The revenues have allowed the town to make payments on a total of $48 million in bonds that paid for the two garages as well as for the many improvements made to the town hall, the West Hartford senior center, parking lots and other projects as Blue Back Square took shape from 2006 to 2008.

"At the end of 20 years, they will be our garages," Van Winkle said.

Brooke Nelson, the operations manager for municipal parking, said the garages had a slightly reduced capacity in January when snow accumulation elminated the top level of parking spots. But in general, she said, there are almost always spaces in one of the garages, which charge $0.75 every 30 minutes with a maximum of $7 per day.

"We have some folks who never want to pay for parking, period," Nelson said of the public's response to the garages. "While other folks find it refreshing to find [the garages] small and clean" and inexpensive compared to cities such as New York or Boston.

"Our staff is very friendly," Nelson said. "Customer service is something we are very much into."

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