Transit plan could eliminate some on-street parking

Las Vegas' plans for a reborn downtown include speedy bus service from Imperial Avenue north to downtown, and then on to the Las Vegas Premium Outlets.

But the addition of new bus lanes will also take away on-street parking on parts of Casino Center Boulevard and Third Street -- parking that will be sorely missed by residents and businesses that count on those spots.

Parking is already a sore spot downtown, one that's not likely to go away as city leaders seek to make downtown Las Vegas a densely populated urban core offering residences, office space, shopping and entertainment.

Complicating the issue is the fact that adequate parking wasn't necessarily required decades ago when some of the existing buildings were built, and on-street parking has made up the deficit.

That could change soon.

On Thursday, the Las Vegas Traffic and Parking Commission recommended removing on-street parking on Third Street from Imperial Avenue to Charleston Boulevard, and on Casino Center from Charleston to Ogden Avenue.

That's where the northbound leg of the Downtown Connector Rapid Bus Transit route will be, and the buses will run in two dedicated lanes in the middle of the road.

That would leave one lane in each direction for vehicles, and no room for parking.

"I support the bus line," said Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese of Ward 1, where most of the disappearing parking is. "I think we need to have that rapid transit. But at what expense?"

With development set to take off, Reese said he also wants to protect the quality of life of existing residents. He said he needed more time to study the impact of the parking commission's recommendation, which could be before the Las Vegas City Council next month for final action.

"I've said, for a really, really long time, we're going to have to study these traffic patterns," Reese said.

People directly affected by the loss of parking have already reached their conclusions.

Rev. Timothy Wehn of the Saint Joan of Arc Church, for instance, doubts that people will forsake "their convenient, comfortable, air-conditioned cars in favor of standing at a bus stop."

And if they don't have the parking they want, he said, they just won't come downtown.

In a letter to the traffic commission, he urged the city to replace any lost street parking with access to low-cost parking in a garage.

People are already drifting away from his Casino Center church because of parking concerns, he told commissioners Thursday.

"Parking is truly a crisis for us," he said. "And they don't come down to fight with you -- they just go to a different area."

Joan of Arc was established 99 years ago and the current building went up in 1938. The property has room for about 10 cars, Wehn said. Purchasing additional land for parking would likely cost nearly $1 million.

A few blocks down, residents of two apartment complexes also face a potential loss of parking. The complexes were built in the 1960s and 70s, and neither has enough on-site parking for all residents.

Current development standards require at least one spot per unit for apartments, although the downtown zoning district allows some flexibility in those rules.

Frank Marron's apartment at Studio Plaza Apartments faces Casino Center, and he likes parking on the street because he can keep an eye on his vehicle. If the bus lanes go through, parking will still be available on nearby side streets -- but he's worried about his car's safety there.

He's also worried that the city's grand plan for downtown doesn't take people like him into account.

"That's the future," he said, looking at the sparkling, 23-story Newport Lofts tower next to his apartment building. "The mayor's trying to improve the socio-economics of the downtown.

"The problem is, the people who don't have a lot of money -- where are they going to go? Where are we going to park?"

Parking's a concern for people with money, too.

Newport Lofts -- starting at $400,000 -- has a parking garage with 185 to 190 spaces, said sales rep Tiffany Shleifer. Most units get one parking space (penthouses get two), and plenty of buyers are interested in purchasing additional spaces.

Shleifer said she parks on the street -- on Hoover Avenue, usually. But she'll face more competition for that spot if Casino Center's parking is eliminated.

"Parking is important," she said. "We need all the extra parking we can get."