POWELL — Parking will soon get easier in downtown Powell this summer with valet services for residents and guests.
Starting in the beginning of June, there will be two valet kiosks in downtown.
The first one will be located at 80 East Bourbon and Cocktail Club, available Wednesday through Saturday in the evenings.
The valet service workers will park cars checked at that kiosk at the Powell Center.
Meanwhile, the second kiosk will be on Hall Street on Friday and Saturday evenings only, parking cars in the back of the public lot located around the municipal building.
Those locations are subject to change, pending further discussion with Premiere Parking, the valet service provider.
“One of the beautiful things about working with Premiere Parking is that it doesn’t matter where you leave your car … you just text them and they will bring the car down actually to you. It’s a really great service,” Hughes told council.
Motorists who want to use the service will pay $10, and Premiere Parking takes electronic payment methods.
When you want to leave, you can call Premiere Parking, and the valet service workers will bring the car to you, or the most feasible location if there are roadway restrictions.
Hughes also shared that if a person who used the valet service wanted to leave their car downtown overnight, they could pick their keys up the next day.
Powell City Council decided at its April 21 meeting that valet is a viable, short-term solution to Powell’s limited parking scene.
City Economic Development Director Sean Hughes put the plan together, along with the Powell Development Corporation (PDC) board.
The PDC agreed to financially support the service, which will cost $680 a week. The PDC keeps $8 out of every $10 paid per customer, which deducts from operating fees and keeps it affordable, Hughes said.
“That will give us the rest of the summer, early fall and the end of the year to evaluate how the program worked out,” City Manager Andy White said.
Councilman Leif Carlson added this is just one option on the many approaches the city is exploring for the parking solution.
“I just think it’s important that the citizens know that we’ve heard them, and we’re doing our due diligence to try to relieve the pressure,” Carlson said.
Shared use parking policy to move forward
Council also approved the creation of a shared-use downtown parking policy for city council consideration. White said that policy has already been created.
Shared-use parking means the city will utilize an existing private lot to offer public parking at restricted hours, such as weekends and evening, but each agreement is unique.
The policy gives city staff a framework for how to structure the agreements between private parking lot owners and the city.
Each agreement will benefit both parties in some manner, with private lot owners receiving maintenance, infrastructure improvements, snow removal and other services.
Now that the policy has been approved, White will bring each unique agreement before council for approval.
Council will decide if the cost to the city is worth the additional parking for each agreement.
Hughes previously said the city has secured 50 shared-use spots so far, and he has several negotiations with more business owners in the works now.
Council will review those agreements as they finalize, he said.
Read more:
Powell City Council debates downtown parking amid resident concerns
Powell City Council weighs new parking solutions for downtown.
Powell plans for public parking expansion by June 1 as demand grows
Powell plans to expand public parking by June 1 with shared agreements and better signage.
