Capitol parking a problem

Add parking to the list of topics that may cause heads to spin and push people to the edge of sanity during the upcoming legislative session.

While not an uncommon challenge during the annual session, parking difficulties during the 2006 session will be compounded because of the continuing renovation of the state Capitol, which has closed two parking areas and brought 300-plus workers to Capitol Hill. Because of those added challenges, state and city leaders are considering multiple ways to ease the crunch.

So far, no plans have been finalized, although a "parking task force" created by the Capitol Preservation Board has issued a number of recommendations that would, at the least, address some of the problems for everyone, said executive director David Hart, who is also the Capitol architect. Those solutions would include parking meters along 500 North and East Capitol Boulevard, financial incentives for employees who do not park on Capitol Hill, and 288 spots for public parking that are currently reserved for employees.

"There are so many interested parties that I don't think everyone can be happy," Hart said. "But the task force tried to find a way to address as many needs as possible."

Not all of the parties, including Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr., are convinced the meters are a solution, and those meters are essential to make the plan work. The estimated $125,000 in revenue generated by the meters would go to state coffers to cover the cost of incentives to employees to park elsewhere, while Salt Lake City would get any money as a result of parking tickets.

Part of the problem for the governor's office is that the parking meters are a long-term solution to a short-term problem, said D'Arcy Dixon Pignanelli, executive director of the Department of Administrative Services and a member of the Capitol Preservation Board. Instead, the problems during construction should be addressed temporarily, and when the construction is completed in 2008, the long-term needs should then be evaluated.

"This is just for two more legislative sessions, so we just need to find a way to take the pressure out of the boil," Pignanelli said. "Then, in 2008, we should take a breath and enjoy the new Capitol and then assess what we have."

Other short-term solutions could be flexible work schedules or telecommuting for employees, similar to what many downtown Salt Lake City companies did during the 2002 Winter Olympics. But earlier proposals for off-site parking and free shuttles for employees are not being considered, nor is charging employees for parking.