(Rochester, N.Y.) – Midtown Plaza’s 1,800-space parking garage closes on September 30, and the race is on to find other parking.
“Everybody's full. I was on a waiting list,” said Don Cortina, who works at JP Morgan Chase.
Although Midtown’s monthly pass holders have been guaranteed parking at the East End, St. Joseph’s and Mortimer Street garages, many workers are not thrilled at the prospect of walking farther, walking outside, and walking in the dark.
“I wouldn't like to walk in the snow, but we'll do what we have to do,” said Xerox worker David Mowry.
“In the winter, it's definitely going to be a much bigger thing, but right now, it's what we have to do,” said Michael DeWind, who works at Home Properties.
Those who try to make arrangements at other parking garages are finding months-long waiting lists of hundreds of people. 13WHAM News called the following garages and was told monthly passes were not available: Sister Cities, Civic Center, Court Street, Genesee Crossroads, South Ave., and Washington Square. Some of those garages are connected to office buildings through the Skyway, making them attractive alternatives to Midtown.
High Falls, East End, St. Joseph’s, Mortimer, and Clarion garages had monthly spaces available.
“We're definitely going to need parking,” said Rochester Downtown Development Corporation head Heidi Zimmer-Meyer.
A recent city-commissioned study of downtown parking showed there are enough spaces as a whole, but that some areas of downtown already have shortages.
Zimmer-Meyer said there will be an even bigger space crunch if the pace of development continues. PAETEC’s new headquarters would take up most of the Midtown Garage, if it remains. Renaissance Square would also eat up parking.
“Any new buildings that are either renovated or built are going to have to in some way figure out how they're going to accommodate parking on their site,” Zimmer-Meyer said.
ESL is building a garage along with its new headquarters on Court Street.
Other projects have had to find more creative solutions. Mark IV Enterprises is converting the H.H. Warner Building into loft apartments. The firm bought the adjacent parking lot and plans to build 30 spaces underground.
“To tell a resident, ‘Hey, you know, you're downtown and it's exciting, but we don't know what to tell you about parking. You're on your own,’ we'd probably cut out a major portion of the market,” said Mark IV’s Paul Foti.
The Mortimer Street Garage reopens on Monday, with 700 spaces. Zimmer-Meyer said her office is working with the city on beefing up security on the routes between offices and the garages where displaced commuters are likely to park.
The Midtown garage may reopen when the PAETEC project is complete.
