More parking, more problems?

The often congested City Beach parking lot could begin to see some relief as early as next summer.

The city is pursuing a deal to purchase three lots at the corner of Lakeside Boulevard and Oregon Avenue where a new parking lot could add up to 45 additional spaces at the popular city park on the south shore of Whitefish Lake.

One of the three parties in the proposed deal has signed the buy-sell agreement. City Manager Chuck Stearns says the other parties are in negotiations. City Council on Dec. 2 gave unanimous approval for the city to proceed with the deal.

While Stearns said the negotiated purchase price of $450,000 plus Realtor fees is a good deal, he voiced concerns that additional parking will only bring more beachgoers to the already crowded city park.

“I believe the parking situation there is somewhat like building additional highway lanes to ease congestion in urban areas,” Stearns said.

“The more you build, the more you attract new use to the area and you often don’t alleviate congestion because you attracted new users,” Stearns said. “Similarly, I think that if we added 40 parking spaces, I doubt that would really alleviate much of the current parking congestion in the area and more people might just come and create the same parking congestion.”

According to a survey in the Parks and Recreation Master Plan, City Beach is the second most used park in the city, behind only Depot Park.

The survey also noted lack of parking and park overuse as two areas of concern at City Beach.

“The primary access to Whitefish Lake at City Beach experiences high use and overcrowding will become more severe unless the city can expand the area,” the master plan notes.

Still, Parks and Recreation director Karl Cozad believes the beach can accommodate more people without degrading the experience.

It’s unlikely the city will expand the beach itself anytime soon, Stearns said. Whitefish developer Rob Pero recently purchased the lakefront property on the west side of City Beach, and to the east there is no opportunity for expansion.

“We’re hemmed in on the east and west,” Stearns said.

In 2007, city voters rejected a $3.19 million bond to purchase less than half an acre of lakefront property west of the beach.

The city has been looking to add parking at City Beach for a number of years, although properties are hard to come by, Stearns said.

The land acquisition for the new lot is priced at $450,000 plus Realtor fees. Funding would likely come from the city’s tax increment fund.

“I do believe that the $450,000 or $25.35 per square foot is a very good price,” Stearns said.

It is expected to cost about $230,000 to demolish existing homes on the lots and to build the parking lot, which could be funded with the tax increment fund or resort tax revenue.

The new lot would likely be used for vehicles, or a mix of boat trailers and vehicles. Stearns said there might be enough space to include a grass area and a few picnic tables.