by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
If construction delays on the new Duval County Courthouse force the City to reconsider its plan to build an adjacent parking garage, the Jacksonville Transportation Authority wants the mayor’s office to know it’s ready and willing to fill the void.
JTA CEO Michael Blaylock told Mayor John Peyton his authority had more than 1,000 parking spaces available in three lots around downtown. If construction on the courthouse and garage are pushed back beyond their scheduled 2007 completion date, JTA lots around the sports complex, convention center and Southbank could help meet downtown’s parking needs, said Blaylock.
“With the difficult decision made to revisit the design for the new courthouse... parking needs could be achieved by utilizing peripheral parking and transit for employees and visitors,” Blaylock wrote in a letter dated Nov. 16.
JTA spokesperson Mike Miller said Blaylock’s letter was prompted by Peyton’s recent decision to essentially start over design work on the Courthouse and the subsequent speculation about the future of an adjacent parking garage.
City planners say its deal with a private developer to build the $26 million garage is still on solid ground. JEDC executive director Kirk Wendland said last week that the deal still looked like a good one for the City. However, the City could ask for changes if it became apparent that the Courthouse’s construction struggles were going to undercut the garage’s profits, he said. The City’s deal with Metropolitan Parking Solutions calls for the City to subsidize the developer’s operating losses if the garage doesn’t earn as projected. The deal also gives the City a chance to share profits once MPS pays off construction debt.
Whatever the future of the 1,375-space garage, Miller said JTA could help ease the City’s parking ills. City research shows a lack of parking as one of downtown’s primary challenges. But Miller said that may be more perception than reality. JTA has 1,200 spaces available spread around downtown’s perimeter, he said.
Using the available spaces would save the City millions, said Blaylock. While the City’s deal with MPS requires the City-backed issuance of about $50 million in bonds to pay for the courthouse garage and two others around the Sports Complex, JTA could make space available immediately in its existing garages and lots.
Miller said the JTA lots make economic sense for customers as well. He said JTA wanted to expand a program that allows corporate clients to pay for their spaces prior to payroll taxes being taken out of their paychecks. Baptist Medical Center currently uses the program to pay for a block of spaces in the Kings Avenue Garage.
JTA will continue to charge below-market rates for its spaces, said Miller. Baptist pays $25 a month per space. Miller said similar rates would be charged at other lots.
While the City’s parking policy encourages parking development around downtown’s perimeter, the JEDC’s research shows that people are put off by the inconvenience of taking the Skyway or Trolley back and forth from the office. Miller said that perception needs to change as the area develops. A growing downtown simply doesn’t offer commuters front-door access, he said.
“People complain about parking, but we’re saying the resources are there,” said Miller. “You know downtown is going to continue to grow, we need people to start thinking about transit-based parking as an alternative with cost benefits to the City and employers without promoting more congestion downtown.”