Parking problems need solutions

Finding a parking space in Eureka Springs, especially on weekends, can be difficult not only downtown but on many of the narrow, steep residential side streets that serve as arteries between the upper and lower Historic Loop.

“It is a problem. It has been a problem for decades,” alderman LauraJo Smole said. “And now that our tourism numbers are up, the importance of dealing with it is increasing. I think it is time for the city to hire a professional consultant to study it and come up with proposals of where parking facilities would be best located and the types of facilities. We need more parking, but it doesn’t have to be in the heart of downtown.”

Since the city’s parking lot on Planer Hill sometimes fills up, Smole thinks it would be a good idea to have another facility like that where people could park and get a trolley pass.

“That opens up a lot of properties up and down Highway 62,” Smole said. “When traffic is super congested downtown, we don’t have good traffic flow, especially at Spring and Main streets. Some people get scared, confused, or angry. Many pedestrians are not using crosswalks because we don’t have many crosswalks, so there is a high potential for injuries. We have had problems with ambulances and firetrucks not being able to get through because of congestion.

“We’ve been in this place before,” she said. “It has been a huge issue before. Then tourism slowly dropped off and we got spoiled by less traffic. But now people are complaining it is even hard to get on and off Highway 62 into restaurants or hotels. Locals are saying, ‘I had to wait ten minutes to turn off the highway.’ A whole set of fresh people are now realizing it is a genuine issue. It is something I would love to see the City Advertising and Promotion Commission tackle. They could build a parking facility up on the highway that could also house their offices. It would be a great opportunity to enhance the city.”

Alderman Melissa Greene also supports the city investigating building additional parking lots.

“There are a few places where the city owns land in and around downtown that might work for parking,” Greene said. “We have to address the problem. There has been an increase in tourism this season because of our marketing.”

Greene lives on Elk Street in an area where there are four parking spots for eight to nine cars owned by residents. There are times she parks in her yard because of that.

“Other people are parking in their yards,” Greene said. “On my street, it is not necessarily a tourism problem. It is a residential problem. We have too many residents with cars. It turns out it is legal to park in your yard, but not on sidewalks. We may need to allow people to put small parking areas in their yards in certain residential zones.

“It is my constitutional right to own a car and my constitutional right to park on a public street where parking is allowed. I can’t look at a neighbor and say that spot in front of my house is my parking spot because it is not. It is public parking. We are also going to address tourism parking.”

Greene also advocates tightening up codes and enforcement requiring people with CUPs and multi-family residential units to use the off-street parking that is available.

Former alderman James DeVito, a downtown restaurant owner who is on the CAPC, has long advocated a parking garage in downtown Eureka Springs. At a CAPC meeting earlier this year, he said some of the money collected by the CAPC needs to go into infrastructure rather than just marketing. Greene, who also sits on the CAPC, said she agrees with DeVito that a parking garage would be a good idea, but where it can be sited will have to be carefully considered.

Alderman Terry McClung agrees that one potential remedy would be allowing people who have a large enough lot to add an off-street parking spot.

“If it is practical, I don’t see anything wrong with that,” McClung said. “They should look into that to see what can be done. Parking in Eureka Springs has always been a problem and always will be a problem. When you have a residence that doesn’t have designated parking, then you are at the mercy of what happens. If you buy a home knowing that on the front end, you have no reason to be upset if you don’t have a spot. It is kind of the way it is.”

Another alderman who lives on a street with major parking problems is Bill Ott, who lives on Pine Street.

“People like to park to walk to the downtown leaving the homeowners with no place to park,” Ott said. “I have had a neighbor mention to me the possibility there might be paid parking for homeowners, which would make it their spot so no one else could park there legally. The city would charge something for the reservation of that space. I’ve been told this is something they do in Fayetteville.”

Ott said homeowners love living here, but it is difficult for them when they can’t find a parking spot near their homes. That is particularly true if they come home with a trunk full of groceries and have to walk two blocks.

“Tourists who come into town need parking places,” he said. “Tourism is up this year, fortunately. If there is a solution out there for both tourists and residents, it should be sought. If paid parking places for residents is a possibility, it needs to be looked into.”