This is.....strange
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College Park residents and visitors are welcoming the city's new downtown parking garage as a boon for the long-parking-starved city.
The garage, located at the intersection of Knox Road and Yale Avenue, first opened to drivers on July 22 and a grand opening celebration was held Wednesday. City officials and business owners hope the extra spaces will attract more visitors to the downtown area.
"Parking garages are in many jurisdictions a prime economic development tool," said Mayor Stephen Brayman. "I think it incentivizes redeveloping in the area."
The 288-space, camera-monitored facility brings the city's total parking capacity to more than 900 spaces, an increase of nearly 50 percent. It also provides protection from weather and other cars that isn't afforded by many of the city's outdoor metered spaces.
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The current rate to park in the garage is 75 cents per hour, the same as a city parking meter. The garage also provides $60 per-month permits to downtown-area employees. It also contains 5,800 square feet of yet-to-be-leased retail space on the ground floor.
The facility has been mostly empty on weekdays, with less than 25 spaces filled Monday afternoon, and city officials are taking the less-than-busy time to fix electrical or logistical problems that may arise. They expect much bigger crowds when students return to the University of Maryland, College Park, in late August.
"The main factor now is that school is out," Brayman said, adding that more people could come when the city begins advertising the garage along Route 1. "I'm quite confident that a lot of people will park in there [this fall]."
http://www.gazette.net/stories/08062009/collnew182814_32527.shtml
And yes, theres subway access to the area
