SPRINGDALE -- The city's downtown is getting closer to having a new public parking lot.
Aldermen approved contract for improvements to the Arts Center of the Ozarks parking lot at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The contract is for concrete curbs, gutters, sidewalks and driveways for the parking lot, said Sam Goade, director of the Public Works Department.
Council Action
Springdale’s City Council met Tuesday and approved:
• An engineering design contract for 56th Street from Don Tyson Parkway to Johnson Mill Boulevard.
• Rezoning 787 N. 40th St. from low/medium density single family residential district to general commercial district.
Source: Staff Report
The city has a lease with the Arts Center concerning the parking lot, said Ernest Cate, city attorney.
The arts center owns the property, which is on the southwest corner of South Main Street and West Meadow Avenue, Goade said in March.
The new parking lot will have more than 60 parking spaces, said Mayor Doug Sprouse. There are about 4,000 parking spaces in the downtown area, not including the new lot.
The parking lot across Emma Avenue from Shiloh Square is a public parking lot owned by the city, Goade said. The city also donated $100,000 in 2014 for the back parking lot at The Jones Center to get paved along with an agreement that it can be used for public parking.
A preliminary design of the parking lot shows 51 regular parking spaces and four handicap spaces, Goade said in March. The design also included a rain garden. The garden has since been removed to add parking spaces and reduce the cost, Sprouse said in March.
As revitalization "takes off" in the downtown area, more people will go there and parking will be an issue, Sprouse said. He called that a good problem, because it would mean people patronizing merchants and businesses downtown.
"We're trying to stay ahead of the need as best we can," he said.
Sprouse said it's a city goal to expand free parking options downtown.
Alderman Jeff Watson said the new parking lot will also help the arts center, which doesn't have much parking. A lot of the center's parking is on the street. Fewer cars being parked on the streets could help with the flow of traffic.
Aldermen in March approved spending $150,000 from leftover reserve from 2014 to pay for the work.
Alderman Mike Overton asked about the center's planned contribution at Tuesday's meeting. Sprouse said the city has received the $50,000 contribution.
The dirt work and gravel base for the parking lot are finished, Goade said. The Public Works Department did the site preparation, Sprouse said.
The next step is concrete work, Goade said. The asphalt will be done after that. Goade said he hopes for the parking lot to be finished in late fall.
NW News on 07/29/2015