Salida City Council unanimously voted to approve a resolution which will provide a supplemental lease agreement between the City of Salida and the Union Pacific Railroad for a 48,000 square foot parking lot expansion on the other side of the F St. bridge. This expansion will take place southeast of the existing parking lot and is estimated to provide 80 new parking spaces.
The spaces will serve many purposes but will ultimately help to free up the congestion and lack of parking for the peak tourist season in Salida’s downtown area. Employee parking is one consideration, given the city of Salida, at the moment, is not writing tickets for its two-hour downtown parking rules.
In April a ruling by the 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, struck down the marking of tires as a way of gauging how long a vehicle is parked as an unconstitutional and warrantless search. Towns and cities across the U.S. took note.
Many city council members chimed in on the importance of this parking need in the community and the parking opportunities this will provide for Downtown Salida. City Council Member, Dan Shore said, it’s “a necessary need that couldn’t have came at a better time.”
Mayor P.T. Wood added his enthusiastic endorsement. “This will be a great addition to our downtown and something the city has been working on for close to 20 years… right time, right place, and a lot of luck.”
“I don’t have a date for you, but we are scrambling to get things moving,” said City Administrator, Drew Nelson, providing a statement regarding the timeliness of this project, after the approval from Salida City Council.
The lease with Union Pacific Railroad will not permit overnight parking, but has the potential for possible sublet in the future, at the approval of Union Pacific Railroad. “I really would like to see the city enforce that,” said Council Member Mike Bowers.
Closing remarks about the resolution wrapped up with council member Cheryl Brown-Kovacic contributing her gratitude, “We’ve been trying to do this for years, so thank you, Mr. Mayor and Mr. Nelson.”
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