Parking questions won't stop progress downtown

Council reviews concepts for Third Avenue, Sinkiuse Square renovation

MOSES LAKE — Two things are pretty clear. One, renovations of the downtown area are going to continue to move forward.

And two, back-in diagonal parking demonstrated on Dogwood Street probably won't be one of those renovations.

City of Moses Lake landscape architect Curt Carpenter and associate planner Lori Barlow presented a new conceptual design to members of the Moses Lake City Council Saturday morning during the council's annual retreat.

The design — which included such elements as an interactive water fountain, landscape medians, wider sidewalks, a covered structure at the intersection of Third Avenue and Ash Street, pedestrian bump-outs, a sloped hill and stage area and mid-block crossings — was part of the plan to turn the downtown area, with an emphasis on Third and Sinkiuse Square, into a more pedestrian-friendly environment.

The concepts also took into account feedback Barlow and Carpenter garnered during three public meetings with the Moses Lake Business Association and Vision 2020 downtown subcommittee in January.

After Barlow and Carpenter made their presentation, Moses Lake Mayor Ron Covey told them, and the assembly of about 20 people who had attended those public meetings, that the idea of diagonal back-in parking, the parking used in the conceptual design, was a good idea in concept, but has some problems in practicality. After hearing complaints from many citizens about the Dogwood project, he is not a proponent of back-in parking, Covey said.

Barlow said at the conclusion of the final meeting with MLBA and the Vision 2020 subcommittee that diagonal back-in parking had been the decision made for the concepts because those in attendance at the meetings could not reach a consensus.

Those in attendance at the city council retreat urged council members to continue with the development of the downtown renovation as a whole, and not let negative comments about certain aspects deter them from what they view to be essential progress. Many in attendance noted that all new ideas will generally meet resistance at first.

Columbia Basin Home, Health and Hospice administrator Beth Laszlo told the city council that the renovations would allow downtown to grow and expand, and compared the council's role to that of a parent.

"There are going to be kids that say, 'I don't want to go to school,' but we know that it's best for them to go to school," she said, asking the council to keep an eye on the big picture. "Please keep going in this direction. I don't have answers to details, I don't have answers to costs, I don't have answers to parking. I really don't care. I think most of the details that can be ironed out would make all that work. The big thing is, get to downtown, get some energy going …"

Covey and other members of the council assured those in attendance that the overall project would not be halted, and would continue forward. They stressed that the project was still in its early stages of development.

City councilman and deputy mayor Richard Pearce was wary of making too many renovations too quickly.

"I'm 100 percent in favor of doing something to Third Avenue, but if the spectrum is a walk-only street or a drive-only street, we've got to figure out where we lay in that spectrum," Pearce said.

Pearce added that the community's history involves driving automobiles.

"We use our automobiles for our transportation, for our shopping, for everything," he said. "People just aren't going to be that cavalier about, 'Throw the traffic off Third and be hanged.' I think people are going to be more interested in some traffic on Third. They're going to be wanting to drive Third, and they're going to be wanting it to be drivable."

Carpenter said he was waiting for directions from city council before proceeding further. He said he would probably get that after the retreat, possibly being carried on into the next city council meeting.

"I think it went well," he said of the presentation at the retreat. "(Back-in diagonal parking) is an issue. Another issue is whether we do the planter islands down the center. People don't like the confinement, as far as vehicles. The back-in parking, the safety of it outweighs everything else, and if we do go with the back-in parking, I think it's just a matter of time before people come back over the side and really like it."

Carpenter said he thinks the city council is presently leaning towards parallel parking for downtown renovations.

"The main thing is that we're moving forward, and that's what we love," said MLBA president Dale Good. "It's time to move, we've talked and talked, and it's time to move. They're considering it, and it looks very good. (I'm) very happy with it."

LeAnn Pauley with the Columbia Basin Allied Arts said she could not be more ecstatic if she had done the conceptual designs herself.

"I think it's good that a lot of people that believe that this town can look better and be more people-friendly came to support it on an early Saturday morning," she said. "I think the city council is being brave, I think they're showing vision. I think the city staff is doing a great job, and I think this is a quantum leap in the right direction."