Parking time limits on Musser not changing

There will be no decrease in time limits for parking downtown in Carson City along a portion of West Musser Street.

A group of roughly two dozen downtown business owners sought an increase in the number of two-hour limit parking spaces on Musser between North Carson and Nevada streets. And city staff proposed to extend the change another block east to Division Street.

Another downtown business owner, Jed Block, told the Carson City Board of Supervisors on Thursday the change wasn't necessary. He owns State Agent and Transfer Syndicate, a business in the 100 block of North Curry Street. He also sits on the Redevelopment Authority Citizens Committee.

"I don't think it's the city's responsibility to make (businesses) thrive," Block said.

He also said that downtown-business owners shouldn't park in front of their stores, allowing customers to use the spaces.

While retailers want immediate turnover of parking spaces, people who run offices do not, and these different needs have caused conflict for a long time, said Supervisor Shelly Aldean.

"Downtown is evolving," she said. "And parking is ubiquitous."

Block decided to monitor the parking in the area, and said he found there was enough parking nearby, especially in the afternoons. The portion of Musser Street being targeted has vehicle turnover, because many of the state workers who park there work a variety of hours and not just from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., as some of the other nearby business owners have stated, he said.

The supervisors decided to refer the matter to the citizens committee in which Block participates. They also suggested asking for opinions from participants in the downtown-business group now forming.

A possible solution could be to add directional signs that help drivers find parking areas, he said.

There are fewer than 500 spaces within the downtown area on which the city focuses its parking rules enforcement efforts, from Fourth and Washington streets to Curry and Plaza streets. Much of the on-street parking already is time-limited in this area. More than 400 spaces in that area allow drivers to park for no more than two hours.

There are nearly 1,800 parking spots total in a wider section of downtown that counts east to west from Stewart Street to Nevada Street, and north to south from Washington to Fifth Street, according to a Redevelopment Authority study.

Despite the number of available spaces, "if it's perceived there's a parking problem, it becomes a parking problem," Aldean added.

In other business:

• The supervisors approved the $3.5 million bond for a new recreation center. City officials still must decide to enter into an agreement with Western Nevada Community College to jointly build and operate a center on the college campus or to put the center at JohnD Winters Centennial Park. Whether the state agrees to provides WNCC's share of the money still hasn't been determined.

• The proposal for expansion of the redevelopment area will move forward. The supervisors are expected to consider approving the addition of 171 parcels, roughly 440 acres, on the south end of the city during their June 1 meeting.

• Contact reporter Terri Harber at tharber @nevadaappeal.com or 882-2111, ext. 215.