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UPDATE: At its Jan. 15 meeting, the Globe City Council voted unanimously to limit to 20 percent the number of parking spaces vendors can use to conduct business in any single city parking lot, excluding special events.
Prior to the vote, Director of Development Services Chris Collopy, explained that while the city wants to encourage business, it is limited in the number of parking spaces it has to offer.
Toward the close of the previous council meeting, Councilwoman Charlene Giles asked for information on available downtown parking, which Public Work Director Jerry Barnes presented Wednesday evening.
The city has a total of 143 spaces in its parking lots:
Eight on Yuma Street (near El Ranchito);
16 on Bailey Street (behind The Huddle);
32 on Mesquite Street (across from Highway 60 Motors);
23 at city hall;
19 at the library and
45 at the “Old Dominion” parking lot, where E-Volve Adventure Rentals rents a few spaces on weekends.
Photo by Carol Broeder
Barnes also talked about improvements the city would like to make to these lots, such as installing new, updated signage, like the one at “Old Dominion” parking lot, as well as directional signage.
The city also plans to number its parking lots, which would help direct visitors to other available lots nearby when one is full.
To further free up available parking spaces, the city would also like to prohibit semi-truck parking and overnight parking except for residents who live in downtown apartments, he said.
As for on-street parking, there is a total of 444 spaces in downtown, the majority of which—216—is on Broad Street, from Haskins to Cottonwood.
The rest are:
64 on Pine Street (Mesquite to Sycamore);
29 on Hill Street (Sycamore to Cedar);
21 on Mesquite (Hill to Highway 60);
41 on Cedar (Hill to 60);
26 on Oak (Hill to 60);
18 on Sycamore (Hill to Pine) and
29 on Hill Street (Cedar to Sycamore).
Councilman Fernando Shipley called available parking an important issue, especially now that “downtown is starting to thrive.”
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City Council to revisit issue at its Jan. 15 regular meeting
Supporting a new local business in the community, the City of Globe agreed to let a mobile sports and equipment rentals business rent part of a downtown parking lot “from time to time.”
When E-Volve Adventure Rental applied for a business license last year in Globe, city staff learned that the plan was to park a trailer in the “Old Dominion” parking lot as a drop off/pick up point for the sports equipment that customers book online.
“The idea sounded good for the downtown district but because of the use of city property to run the business, the city needed to protect itself,” said Director of Development Services Chris Collopy.
Now, Globe City Council is being asked to weigh in on a proposed amendment to current city code should other companies also want to use designated city parking lots to conduct business, limiting the number of parking spaces being used.
The issue is scheduled to be up for a vote at the next regular council meeting on Wednesday, Jan. 15, at the Gila County Board of Supervisors meeting room, 1400 E. Ash St., Globe.
At the Dec. 3 meeting, council members thanked E-Volve Adventure owner Darryl Griffin for bringing a new business to Globe.
A mobile-based e-bike, kayak and stand up paddle (SUP) board rental company, E-Volve Adventure is allowed to rent a few spaces of the city parking lot at the northwest corner of Broad and Sycamore Streets.
Councilwoman Charlene Giles also expressed concerns about the parking issue, calling the “huge lack of parking” a problem downtown, especially on Fridays.
“Two or three spaces is fine right now,” Giles said. “But what if there are three more businesses that say, ‘You let him do it. Why not me?’”
As a result, city staff put together an ordinance which would amend existing city code.
Proposed ordinance No. 861 states that, while city council believes it’s in the city’s best interest to allow vendors to rent public parking lots, too many vendors could impose a hardship on merchants as well as visitors looking for parking spaces.
If approved, the proposed ordinance would limit vendors to renting 20 percent of available public parking spaces in any single city parking lot, except for special events.
In addition, access would be limited to “first come, first allowed.”
The vendor would also be required to have with them at all times a current copy of their license agreement, proof of insurance and a time-stamped electronic photo documental their arrival time that day.
City parking lots designated as part of a special event permit are excluded from this requirement, the proposed ordinance states.
On the subject of special events, such as Globe’s annual Cinco de Mayo celebration that takes place in the Old Dominion parking lot, City Manager Paul Jepson said, “We want to have the right to say that we need these spots right now.”
Award winning journalist with over 18 years experience in covering local news and issues affecting rural communities. Married 37 years, my life has taken me from Phoenix to Willcox to Globe. My husband and I are both overjoyed to find ourselves in Globe-Miami, with its rich history and sense of community. This is truly home.
