Workers smooth wet concrete on Thursday, Nov. 17, as work continued on a new city-owned parking lot under construction off Port Street. It is looking to be the first-ever lot where a fee would be charged for parking there. Staff photo by Dan Parker
The 160-space public parking lot the City of Port Aransas is building off Port Street will be the first paid parking lot in the city, according to longtime observers in Port Aransas. Construction on the lot is slated to finish in mid-December, said Lawrence Cutrone, assistant city manager. Work started on the project in early October.
The City Council hasn’t decided yet on how the payment system would work and how much would be charged for the parking lot. City Manager David Parsons said city staff might bring a proposal to council in February or March, but the timeline is “very loose.”
During its regular meeting Tuesday, Nov. 15, the council directed city staff to install an electrical conduit that could power a payment system.
“We don’t envision it being free, just open to whoever to go park there,” Parsons told the council. “We think there needs to be rules and guidelines.”
Parsons explained to the council that city staff has been looking at several different types of payment systems. He said staff envisions a system similar to what is used at the Corpus Christi International Airport parking lot. That system has an entry and exit gate. A ticket is printed out at the entry gate that is put in the vehicle’s windshield. At the exit gate, the driver returns the ticket, and the cost is determined by how long the parking lot is used. The driver pays, and the exit gate opens.
The City of Port Aransas is building a 50,000-square-foot parking lot off Port Street. Construction is slated to be finished in mid-December. Map by Keith Petrus
Another system city staff looked at is one that would have no gates and have a kiosk where drivers would prepay. That system would be high maintenance as it would need parking attendants to check which parked vehicles have been paid for.
“We do not want a system that requires code enforcement or the police to be driving into that parking lot looking for violators,” Parsons told the council.
If the gate payment system is used, the parking lot would likely be fenced to prevent people from leaving without paying by driving over a curb.
There’s not a set date yet of when the parking lot will open for public use.
The parking lot could be used for short-term rental overflow parking or to serve events at the nearby Civic Center. Another idea is using the lot in conjunction with the ferry system for park-and-ride services, Parsons said.
The lot could also be opened for free parking for certain events if needed.
The roughly 50,000-square-foot lot was paid for by hotel occupancy tax revenue. The construction bid was for $804,434, Cutrone said.
“We’d want to recoup some of our costs that we that we’ve paid to build the facility,” Parsons said. “And then especially if it was for overflow for STR rentals, then we would definitely want them paying to help us recoup our construction costs.”
The funds collected from the parking lot will be added to the city’s general fund and could be used for anything, Parsons said.
Contact Kathryn Cargo at reporter@portasouthjetty.com.
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