The Owensboro Parking Committee met on Thursday to discuss the parking situation for this weekend’s Bluegrass Hall of Fame and Museum grand opening. The committee confirmed that the new parking garage, located at Second and Locust St., won’t be open for this weekend’s event as planned.
The parking garage is still undergoing its final stages of completion, but Owensboro city engineer Kevin Collignon says it’s close to being finished. The pavement markings inside the structure are nearly complete, and an elevator inspection will be completed by state officials on Friday.
Trolleys will be available over the weekend to transport people to and from the Bluegrass Museum, and other downtown parking lots and street parking will also be available to accommodate potentially high traffic for the museum’s opening.
The parking committee unanimously rejected a consideration for selling street parking permits in 2-hour parking spaces. The committee determined that selling street permits for downtown employees would upend the City’s original motive for creating street parking.
The committee explained the City’s desire for high consumer turnover in downtown Owensboro, stating that the 2-hour parking spaces allow small businesses to thrive from the come-and-go aspect of residents using the parking spots on the street.
Instead of implementing permits for street parking, the committee discussed the idea of selling monthly parking permits for the new parking garage. Downtown employees could purchase a permit and park in the garage for a month at a time–most likely, somewhere along the top couple of floors.
The parking committee also discussed the idea of replacing 2-hour street parking with parking meters, explaining that meters would bring extra revenue to the city. The committee felt the use of electric parking meters would be a cost-effective option, by allowing customers to park for the first hour or two for free and then pay for further time if needed.
