$3 to $5 parking fee at the waterfront, Big Four Bridge is likely to happen

It soon may cost at least $3 to park at Waterfront Park, even if you are simply taking a trek on the Big Four Bridge, participating in a weekend charity walk, or attending a Waterfront Wednesday concert.

The Waterfront Development Corp., which manages the highly popular stretch of greenery along the Ohio River, is in fairly dire financial straits and plans to begin charging visitors who park in a waterfront lot Wednesdays through Sundays.

But parking would remain free on Mondays and Tuesdays to help "ease the pain" for the public, said David Karem, the waterfront agency's executive director.

He said the plan, which is subject to a full vote of the Waterfront Development Corp.'s board, wouldn't go into effect until this fall. A committee has proposed a fee of $3 to $5.

The pending pay-to-park plan was met with mixed reaction by waterfront-goers Tuesday morning near the Big Four Bridge.

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Roger Hunt, who is retired, said he probably would continue to come to the waterfront several times a week, even if he has to pay to park. He said he didn't see any alternative for the waterfront agency, since the state ended its funding in 2014.

"The state wastes a lot of money on things worse than this," he said of the canceled funding for the waterfront.

But charging park users didn't go down well with Steve Campbell. "They built the park so it could be enjoyed," he said. Charging to park, "I don't think is right."

The waterfront board recently appointed three of its members – Oliver Barber, Nicole Walton and Rip Hatfield – to recommend a parking policy to the full board. The committee met recently with representatives of Riverside Parking and the Parking Authority of River City to come up with a policy, which has been proposed to the full corporation board.

The full board will have the final say at an upcoming meeting, but its adoption of a paid-parking policy appears likely. For one, Mayor Greg Fischer is a board member – he appoints a majority of the 15-member board – and he recently endorsed the idea of paying to park at selected waterfront events.

But Louisville Metro Councilman Bill Hollander, D-9th District, said in a statement Tuesday that “charging for general parking at Waterfront Park is a bad idea."

"... Waterfront Park is one of the most diverse places in Louisville, and it’s important that it remain accessible to everyone, every day — and not just on Mondays and Tuesdays," he said.

A consultant has said a $3 parking fee might generate $250,000 in revenue each year.

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The waterfront agency initially considered charging for event parking. But the committee concluded that probably wouldn't work because of enforcement problems, based in part on the wide variety of events being held on different days at different times.

The committee also felt that it might be confusing to the public to differentiate between free and paid parking, and it noted that multiple events are held some days.

The park has booked about 150 events this year, including dozens of charity walks. The park draws about 2 million visitors a year.

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The committee said it intends to charge people who use the waterfront lots while they attend events at Louisville Slugger Field and the KFC Yum Center from Wednesdays through Sundays.

A summary of the recent committee meeting compiled by Karem said that parking booths or pay stations would be used.

Karem said that Mondays and Tuesdays are the two days with the fewest events and least activity. He added that the fees under consideration reflect similar costs that officials in both Cincinnati and Indianapolis charge for public parking near municipal riverfront facilities.

The paid parking is proposed in all Waterfront Park lots on Wednesdays through Sundays from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., when the park closes.

The park has a total of nine lots with more than 400 combined spaces. The agency recently imposed parking fees in one of the lots, a site at Preston and Witherspoon streets, where many downtown workers had long been parking for free.

The waterfront agency has been living hand to mouth since the General Assembly ended all state funding in 2014. It had been providing $420,000 a year.

The agency's budget is about $2.4 million this year, with nearly $1 million to be provided by the city and most of the rest coming from restaurant leases, user fees and donations. To make ends meet, the agency in recent times has frozen travel, cut salaries and transferred funds initially earmarked for land acquisition and for reserves.

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Riverside Parking, which operates many downtown parking facilities, will oversee the waterfront parking, Karem said. It will negotiate a contract with the waterfront agency, with the arrangement determining how the income will be split and other details, such as whether a park-goer might catch a break for staying less than three hours.

Machines would negate the need for staffing each lot, and signs at lot entrances would tell the costs.

Barber, a lawyer, noted that the agency raised fees to stage events at the park last year without much discord. He said that, likewise, users might not complain if they have to pay to park because "they are getting a good value for their bucks."

Reporter Sheldon S. Shafer can be reached at 502-582-7089, or via email at sshafer@courier-journal.com.

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