By CHERYL ROMANO/YachatsNews.com
YACHATS — Sometimes finding a parking space in downtown Yachats is like whale watching — you hope to spot one, but if you don’t right away, you just keep looking.
The city’s Planning Commission is studying parking issues, especially summer or event parking, and inviting public comment during an in-person meeting from 6-8 p.m. Monday in Room 8 of the Commons. People are invited to ask questions, comment and suggest options to address parking issues.
While parking has been much-discussed in the past, this year the city has some help from the state — the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development is providing the services of a consultant at no cost to the city. The area being studied extends from the Yachats River Bridge north to Marine Drive.
“We’re not expecting to ‘solve’ the issue” Monday, but want to get comments from the public as part of the on-going study, said Loren Dickinson, co-chair with Christine Orchard of what’s called “Downtown Yachats Parking Management Planning.”
No decisions will be made at Monday’s session.
To get information and background on the study in advance, people can view a packet of documents detailing the study, its history, and interviews with local business owners on the city website.
The consultant will be handing out a brief questionnaire at Monday’s meeting. The questionnaire, along with a meeting agenda, can be viewed and filled out in advance.
“Parking has been an issue for years,” said Dickinson. While consultant Brian Davis of Studio Davis in Portland, “hasn’t made any specific recommendations yet,” he continues to “gather data on a day-to-day basis.”
Some of the ideas broached by local officials and business owners over the years include:
- Having the city buy land for a public parking lot;
- Add paint and signs on West Fourth Street from the Commons to Ocean View Drive to make existing street parking slots more apparent;
- Erecting a multi-level parking facility, and;
- Imposing parking time limits.
“A lot of the business owners in Yachats do recognize that there are some parking problems, and those may or may not affect their businesses… I think many residents are concerned, too,” Dickinson said.
The parking study group began its official work at a kick-off meeting in late April, when it cited several factors involved in the problem:
- Especially during summer months, and during holidays and planned events, “adequate parking is lacking.”
- Covid-19 aggravated parking problems because the city in several cases allowed existing on-site parking spaces at restaurants to be temporarily converted to outdoor tables. “In most cases this ‘temporary’… authorization has not been rescinded,” the group said.
- Both visitors and residents often park in one facility’s lot to visit other businesses. The lots at the Post Office and C&K Market are prime examples.
Dickinson said that people unable to attend Monday’s meeting are welcome to send an email to the consultant at brian@studiodavispdx.com. Studio Davis specializes in urban design and transportation. Its principal, Brian Davis, is an adjunct instructor of planning at Portland State University.
Tentative plans are for the Planning Commission and City Council to receive recommendations in September.
Downtown Yachats Parking Planning Project, Monday, July 18
Agenda & Questionnaire
6:00 – 6:15 Informal discussions as people arrive, hand out questionnaires, encourages comment on maps
6:15 – 6:45 Presentation on project goals, parking management techniques, work to date, issues identified
6:45 – 7:15 Q & A
7:15 – 8:00 Discussion, collect questionnaires, encourage more feedback
Please share your thoughts and experiences regarding parking in downtown Yachats. Below are some questions to shape the discussion. Feel free to fill this out and bring to the public workshop on July 18, or email your responses to brian@studiodavispdx.com. There will also be plenty of opportunity for discussion and feedback at the workshop.
- Are you a resident? Employee? Visitor? When and how often do you come downtown?
2. What is your experience with the current state of parking downtown?
3. Identify the location and timing of current parking challenges.
4. Describe any past attempts to address parking challenges.
5. Describe the role downtown should play in the future of the community.
6. What types of land uses should be encouraged in downtown?
7. Any suggestions to solve parking issues?
In my opinion, the parking lot at the Post Office should be used only for official business by Post Office patrons. In a sense, it is Post Office property during their business hours. The Post Office should have appropriate signage to limit parking during operating hours.
Here is goes again. This was heavily discussed before and after the sidewalk debacle. I’m thinking — lets see a giant parking garage where the ball field should be? Lol.