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A comment earlier this week from Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron on employee parking for those working at businesses in Center Wheeling illustrates why city officials must start discussions now on a realistic long-term plan for that neighborhood's future.
"We've already had inquiries for about half of the (parking) spaces (available at the former Center Wheeling parking garage site). I've had a number of building owners tell me that their employees were feeding the meters. When the parking structure was there, it had monthly parking," Herron told members of City Council on Tuesday.
It's without question that the parking garage had to go -- it was unsafe, unsightly and rather out-of-place in the middle of a busy row mixed with retail and office space. However, the people who parked there … where did they go? Onto the street utilizing the meters, it seems. That also isn't a plan for success in an area that relies on a constant turnover of customers.
What's the solution? For the short-term, using a section of the former garage site for monthly parking -- even though the old garage has been leveled, a concrete pad remains in one section -- makes sense, as it gets employees off the street. However, that doesn't solve the longer-term issue of what happens when, hopefully later this year, work begins on whatever the future will be of the former Center Wheeling garage site. Where will those monthly parkers go then?
With the growth coming to Center Wheeling with the planned WVU Medicine Wheeling Hospital regional cancer center, the time is now to start thinking of realistic solutions to this problem. There is capacity in the downtown garages. Pushing employees into those garages -- and then perhaps looking at some type of shuttle service -- would be a possible good start.
What we can't afford is a push for more tax dollars to go into a new garage in that area.
That would be foolish.