Parking Possible Downtown Springdale Problem

Trail, Revitalization Could Bring Crowds

STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Cars are parked in a lot south of Emma Avenue on Friday in Springdale. Parking in downtown Springdale is facing challenges with the area losing some parking with the addition of a park in Shiloh Square.
STAFF PHOTO ANTHONY REYES Cars are parked in a lot south of Emma Avenue on Friday in Springdale. Parking in downtown Springdale is facing challenges with the area losing some parking with the addition of a park in Shiloh Square.

SPRINGDALE -- Parking spots near Emma Avenue are easily available now, but that could change if efforts to revitalize the city's downtown are successful.

A major access point for the Razorback Greenway, a walking and biking trail stretching 36 miles from Fayetteville to Bentonville, will be a trailhead on Emma Avenue. Downtown Springdale Alliance wants to bring more businesses and people to the downtown area, including a creekside park at the trailhead.

AT A GLANCE

Springdale’s Downtown District

Parking spots in the district bound by Huntsville Avenue, Old Missouri Road, Quandt Avenue and Thompson Street:

• Off-street — 3,336

• On-street — 385

• Handicapped spaces — 122

• Reserved on-street — 56

• Reserved off-street — 20

• Total Spaces — 3,919

Source: City of Springdale

"Parking is one of the first things we looked at," said Ed Clifford, a member of the alliance. "There will have to be parking for the trailhead. People do not understand how much the trail will be used."

Some city and area leaders said they think parking problems would not be all bad.

Having a parking problem would mean people are coming to downtown to participate in activities, said Daniel Faires, an interior designer. Faires appeared on the HGTV "Design Star" competition show and owns a downtown business, Fairlane Station at 108 Graham St.

"In a lot of cities, people don't think anything about walking eight to 10 blocks," Faires said. "People need to get past the idea that they have to be able to walk from their parking spot right into the building where they want to go. Foot traffic is what the area needs."

Mayor Doug Sprouse agreed with Faires.

"That's a good problem to have," Sprouse said.

Some people who work on Emma Avenue don't agree, said Warren Center. Center was the founder of Help Card, a company that provides financing for dental and medical costs. The business moved to 203 E. Emma Ave. from Fayetteville in 2003.

"We had a building in Fayetteville with plenty of room, but not enough parking," Center said. "We were having a turnover problem. Our employees didn't want to walk in snow and rain to get inside."

The company employs about 100 people, Center said, and could add 15 to 20 more this year. Some of the parking lot the company now uses will be lost when a box culvert where Spring Creek goes under the downtown area is opened up for the park.

"The long-range plan for downtown calls for our parking lot to be replaced with a grass-covered square," Center said. "It probably will be best for the city, but it will be a burden for the company."

A study of the downtown area was made by Victoria Hui, an intern in the Springdale Planning Department, said Patsy Christie, department director. The study showed almost 4,000 parking spaces are in the area bound by Thompson Street, Huntsville Avenue, Old Missouri Road and Quandt Avenue.

"We really have not done a good job of marking our parking areas," Christie said. "We have a lot of parking spaces that people don't know are there."'

Many of those spaces are in private lots, Sprouse said, including First United Methodist Church, 206 Johnson St.; First Security Bank, 100 W. Emma Ave.; and Northwest Medical Center-Springdale, 609 W. Maple Ave.

City officials want to provide more public parking by working with existing organizations, Sprouse said. The City Council will decide Tuesday if a parking lot at The Jones Center, 922 E. Emma Ave., could become a public lot, he said.

The lot, located on the west side of the center and extending to Jones Trucking Lane, would have to be resurfaced at a cost of about $100,000. The city would lease the property at a minimal cost, possibly $1 per year. The lot would be used by those going to The Jones Center, the Center for Non-Profits and Community Clinic.

The lot is not on the greenway, Clifford said, but would have direct access to a branch of the trail. Clifford is the executive director of The Jones Center.

Officials are also looking at a similar arrangement with the Arts Center of the Ozarks, 214 S. Main St. Several old buildings on Meadow Avenue, which were once part of the Bobby Hopper Ford dealership, are scheduled to be torn down. The city has agreed to pave the lot once the buildings are removed, said Kathi Blundell, administrative director of the Arts Center.

Asbestos has been removed from the buildings and demolition should begin this week, Blundell said.

The city has similar contracts for other facilities, said Ernest Cate, city attorney.

"The city doesn't own Tyson Park," Cate said. "That is on a long-term lease with the Tysons."

The leases are the next step in the city's efforts to help revitalize downtown, Cate said.

Other cities in the area have faced similar parking problems, Faires said.

"There is not a lot of parking around the Bentonville square," Faires said. "Fayetteville put in all the paid parking around Dickson Street. Now there is a private parking deck on Dickson."

Many downtown districts use plans for shared parking, according to a study by the American Planning Association. The plan works best when the adjacent business have different peak hours, such as offices during the daytime and restaurants that are busy at night and on weekends, according to the study.

Efforts to revitalize downtown Springdale have gained momentum with the trail and park, Faires said.

"I think it's a little premature to worry too much about parking," Faires said. "We need to maintain this momentum."

Sprouse again agreed with Faires.

"The city and those who are concerned with downtown can deal with any problems as they come up," Sprouse said.

NW News on 06/09/2014

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