Parking an issue at new SF court
Nearby streets may offer solutions
With the new Santa Fe County courthouse scheduled to open next month with no onsite public parking, city officials are looking at ways to create a few more spaces along nearby streets.
Ideas include turning Montezuma Avenue into a one-way street, which would allow the city to put in diagonal parking spots, and exchanging a Sandoval Street turn lane for a row of parking spaces.
“At the request of court officials, we’ve been looking at different traffic options in an attempt to get more on-street parking,” city Public Works Director Ike Pino confirmed.
The move follows a decision by the Santa Fe County Commission in February to nix a plan to have public parking at the new courthouse — despite
the fact that financing for project bonds was sold to voters in 2006 in part as a way to expand parking for courthouse visitors.
Commissioners who voted to eliminate the public parking said they were concerned about security at the countybuilt $63 million building, which has 159 parking spots located in an underground garage.
The state judicial district court is scheduled to move into the new building on Montezuma Avenue and Sandoval Street on June 5-7, according to a recent court bulletin. The new location should be open for business on June 10.
Pino said city off icials have met with New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Petra Jimenez Maes to discuss adding nearby street parking and hope to meet with Chief District Judge Raymond Ortiz in the near future.
Pino estimated that 10-12 spaces could be added along Sandoval, fewer on Montezuma.
A possible plan for Sandoval would involve eliminating the south-bound right turn lane near Montezuma, which city traffic planners have determined isn’t used all that frequently. The right turn option would be merged into the through lane, all the traffic lanes on the street would be slide over a bit and what is now the current north-bound lane would be turned into parking spaces.
Changing Montezuma into one-way — the direction hasn’t been determined — could allow the city to put in some additional diagonal parking. However, Pino noted that idea could be complicated by courthouse egress and the street’s many driveways.
Pino said “we’re just exploring options now” and emphasized that no decisions have been made.
He said he’s not sure which option, if any, might be chosen or how long the changes would take to implement. He said city officials will be “closer to a decision” after they meet with Ortiz.
County officials have pointed out that there are several public parking lots relatively close to the courthouse, including the city’s Railyard parking garage, five blocks away; the city’s Sandoval lot, four blocks away; and the state garage near the Roundhouse, four blocks away.
And at least one county commissioner has asked county staff to look at the possibility of securing real estate near the courthouse for public parking.