Some of the rejuvenated areas of the Rose City are finding that valet parking is solving parking problems for businesses, particularly restaurants./..Read about it here.
They say their main problem is finding places for the valet companies to rent to put the cars. I say that’s not the city’s problem. Its the Valet Company’s problem. See if the local businesses cut a deal with the valet company to park cars from say 5 to 10 pm. The valet company cuts a deal with the city that it will use say three spots for drop off in front of the shop (and pay for the spots).
The Valet company will then be responsible for finding places to park the cars. My guess is there is a lot of open parking behind stores that are closed that would love to have those spots rented out for the unused time. But then that’s the problem of the valet company. They are entrepreneurial — they can figure it out.
JVH
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I find it interesting that JVH left out quite a bit of the article referenced…
PORTLAND TRIBUNE, Friday, January 6, 2006…
For those going into a restaurant, just looking for a place to park, it might seem like valet parking is taking away from the public giving them to private businesses. But that’s not the case, according to Ramon Corona, parking control manager for Portland’s Department of Transportation.
“You take one space away, but you are taking 20 or 30 cars off of the street,” Corona says. “It’s a tradeoff.”
“Those 20 or 30 cars belong to the people in the restaurant who aren’t competing with you for street space, Corona says. That’s because before a restaurant can get a space or two out front designated for valet parking, it has to show the city a contract where a nearby parking lot is going to keep patron’s cars.The restaurant doesn’t have to pay for the valet zone designation, however.
So, JVH, how do you come up with the statement that the valet companies cut a deal with the city? The valet company is hired by the restaurant to park cars. They have nothing to do with with the deal made between the city and the restaurant.
As far as your comment about renting space behing stores, you should contact the landowners directly, if you were going to do the real appraisal of the situation. Most lots are already spoken for, and for those that remain empty, that is because the landowners choose to do so.
The restaurant gives proof to the city that they have procured a parking lot