Can a parking benefit district solve parking issues and provide a benefit to the people living in that district? This is the question we asked about a year ago after hearing from neighbors living in the Old Bend neighborhood that parking had become a real challenge.

For years, Old Bend residents had encountered issues including residents and guests not being able to park in front of their homes due to out -of -district parkers, RV camping from tourists and houseless individuals ignoring posted time limits, river floaters parking all over the neighborhood streets while at times displaying disrespectful behavior and downtown shoppers and employees parking in the Old Bend neighborhood to avoid time-limited and paid parking in downtown. With support from the Old Bend Neighborhood Association and residents of the most affected areas of Old Bend (near downtown and the river), we created a parking benefit district where a variety of parking management strategies were employed.

In September 2020, the City Council implemented the Old Bend Parking Benefit District on a one-year pilot program with a goal of prioritizing parking for residents of the Old Bend Neighborhood while also respecting the needs of surrounding businesses and public parks. Residential parking permits were issued to the residents of the Old Bend Parking Benefit District at a reasonable cost, and visitor and paid contractor permits were also made available. Time -limited commercial parking was designated on streets around Old Bend businesses and public parks, and paid event parking was established in a large portion of the district near Drake Parke and downtown Bend.

It was not perfect in the beginning, and the parking district has gone through many growing pains. As promised, adjustments were made during the pilot program to allow the Old Bend Parking District to evolve and meet its goals. Parking enforcement was slowly ramped up so that residents and nonresidents (used to freely parking in the neighborhood) could become acquainted with the new rules. Parking signs were redesigned to make them more easily understood. Time -limited parking and event parking were expanded to allow for easier access to nearby businesses and parks.

After an initial adjustment period, parking for Munch & Music became safer and more organized as event attendees found the designated event parking areas and avoided permit -parking -only areas in the district. Also, the river floating shuttle had good ridership this summer, and two-hour parking was designated on a large portion of NW Tumalo Avenue to allow for more floater and event parking in the future.

As with most parking benefit districts, the Old Bend Parking District has a secondary goal of reinvesting the proceeds from permits and enforcement back into the district to support neighborhood safety and improvement projects. Since its inception, $115,672 in revenues have been generated by the district. After funding operational costs necessary to run the district and holding back required reserves, $53,000 will be available for improvements to the Old Bend Parking District neighborhood. In spring 2022, neighbors will be invited to submit project ideas and people in the district can decide on which project to fund.

So here we are, almost a full year later, to report that the answer is “yes.” A parking benefit district can solve parking issues and also provide a benefit to the people living in that district

So what’s next?

In November, residents of the Old Bend Parking District will have the opportunity to help decide the future of the district by participating in a survey. Bend City Council will receive a report, including those survey results, from the parking district committee and will decide if the district will continue.

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