A request for proposals is being crafted and could be issued in the next month to find companies interested in managing public parking in downtown Baton Rouge.
John Fregonese with Fregonese Associates, the Portland, Oregon-based company in charge of implementing an overhaul of parking in downtown Baton Rouge, says the company whose proposal is accepted will be in charge of managing the downtown parking garages and parking meters.
There are about four to five companies around the country that handle this type of work, Fregonese says.
Once hired, the management firm and Fregonese’s team will upgrade outdated parking meters that line downtown streets to smart meters and replace gates in the parking garages.
“You want to get a company on board and look at the technology specs to make sure they are comfortable with it,” Fregonese says.
The Metro Council approved a $100,000 contract for Fregonese Associates at a Jan. 27 meeting to implement the downtown parking strategy. The strategy expands on the 2014 study conducted by engineering company AECOM.
Fregonese presented the plan to the Metro Council at a Jan. 10 meeting. During the presentation, Fregonese called downtown Baton Rouge’s parking meter system “very old fashioned” and said it’s from “the stone age.” He added the city-parish collected $164,000 from meters in 2015 when it could have collected more than $550,000 with better enforcement.
Baton Rouge has about 1,800 public parking spaces downtown—not counting the 1,000 spaces at the Belle of Baton Rouge Casino and Hotel—and another 2,700 private parking spaces. Of those 1,800 public spaces, 970 are on the street and 540 are metered.
In an interview today, Fregonese says he still believes much of the plan can be implemented by the end of the year, with the exception being the expansion of the east River Center garage.
He says the city-parish must improve the revenue stream for downtown parking before beginning the garage expansion. The new meters will help, he says, but the best way is to make sure more people use that garage.
“With a new library and growth downtown, I think there is going to be a need for additional parking,” Fregonese says.
https://www.businessreport.com/article/metro-council-approves-bid-new-downtown-library
—Ryan Broussard
