By J. Graber | Scottsdale Independent
It’s going to cost somewhere between $50,000 to $60,000 per parking spot to build a new garage somewhere in Old Town, according to Scottsdale Public Works Director Dan Worth.
“It’s not cheap,” Worth said. “That’s a concern some people have. Do we even need to be spending this money? Do we really have that much of a problem? We have to go back to the (parking) study to determine whether the problem warrants spending that kind of money.”
The 2019 bond includes $20.9 million to build another parking garage in Old Town. If the city doesn’t use it to build a garage, the money could be spent on another project in the same bond question.
If it is used for a garage, the money just won’t get the same number of parking spots it would have if the project had been done when the bond was passed.
“It’s going to buy us a lot less than it would have four years ago or three years ago, but at this point, looking at the government producer price indexes for construction it seems to be leveling off, so going forward we don’t believe it’s going to be anywhere near the issue it was for the last two years.”
But even if the city does use the money to build a new parking garage, exactly where it should go is a matter of debate.
The city is currently evaluating the need for a garage in the northeast quadrant and in the southwest quadrants of Old Town.
But that’s based on the needs identified in a parking study conducted in 2015. “Several things have changed since then,” Worth said.
That’s why the city is holding off on picking a location until it can conduct another traffic study next year, though some already believe they know where the new garage should go.
For instance, city councilwoman Tammy Caputi is clear she supports a new garage in the northeast quadrant.
“Eight years after the 2015 study, there’s been much new development, creating an even greater need in this undeserved business area,” Caputi stated in an email to the Daily Independent.
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