The Plaza Problem
What’s all this about a plaza going in downtown? The plaza project has been in the works for over three years now. While most people have heard of it, not many people know much about what it is really going to do.
The Yakima Central Plaza project is based around creating a centralized gathering place for events and activities. Ideally, this would bring together the community and attract tourists, which would benefit Yakima by creating economic growth. The proposed space could hold concerts, festivals, and even an ice skating rink. In 2016, the City Council approved $3 million in City funding for the project, as long as the community can raise the other $9 million in donation. But not everyone is completely behind the whole idea. Some say it will do more harm than good.
When tackling a complicated issue such as this, I was curious as to how the local small business owners felt about the plaza. After all, they are the ones whom this plaza is supposed to bring business to, and they would be affected by any changes made. After talking to multiple business owners, I was left with a mixed bag of opinions. Some were very hopeful the plaza would bring people into Yakima and show them there is more going on Downtown than they may have thought. There were also some deep concerns as well, mostly concerning parking and safety.
The most common concern was the parking. Parking may not seem like a big deal, but it has a huge impact on a store’s accessibility to the public, as well as the appeal of the whole city host events. The Yakima Plaza website seems eager to head off these concerns, but the information they provided is very finicky and hard to decipher. For example, they claimed there are already 1,250 “new” parking spaces within two blocks of the plaza, when what they meant is that they have increased the number of parking spaces to 1,250, not added 1,250 new ones.
Even if those numbers are correct, when looking at the City of Yakima’s downtown parking map, you can see that almost all of the parking within two blocks is either private business parking, or now only 1-2 hour parking. This shorter parking time is no doubt to increase the number of people who have a chance to park, but honestly? One-hour parking? One hour is barely enough to get in and out of a restaurant downtown, much less enjoy a festival or show at the Capital.
More information about increasing parking can be found in the 2014 parking study. This is also a bit confusing. After pages and pages of diagrams, they suggest using the Yakima Mall parking and the Dragon Inn Garage. Aside from the cost of leasing these buildings from the owners, they each require significant repairs. Together, the cost of these repairs is estimated over $2,000,000. In case you’re wondering, the both of those property owners support the plaza project.
The study also recommends working with owners of private business lots to negotiate general public parking, and adding angled parking where possible. While some of these might work, they also would greatly increase the amount the City has to put toward this project in order to make it feasible.
Some of the store owners also mentioned the issue of safety. One such owner commented that people don’t feel comfortable in Yakima; even if they come in for an event, they aren’t likely to stick around to take a look at things. Another employee I talked to had concerns about the plaza becoming a place for the homeless to camp out. The city has mentioned putting in new lights to help address the safety issue around where the plaza would be, but haven’t described cost.
Another concern is that even if the plaza brings people Downtown, it won’t be increasing revenue so much as concentrating it. Downtown events may mean more customers for business there, but are they just drawing in the customers that would usually be at other places? For example, the plaza plans would allow for an ice skating rink in the winter. I myself occasionally go ice skating in the winter, because Yakima already has an ice rink. Now, that is just once example, but do you think the Yakima Ice Rink would be helped or hurt by a rink downtown?
So, are all the potential benefits worth it?
Remember, if the plaza does what it is supposed to, it will provide a place of prosperity, a chance for local businesses to get a leg up, and will treat the citizens to the best food and culture the Valley can offer. But let’s look a little deeper.
Yakima already hosts a number of festivals. The concern for parking isn’t during the week when things are slow, but when these big festivals or events happen. The whole point is to bring in people to stimulate economic growth, but even if the plaza project were to not lose a single parking spot, you would still need to add parking to accommodate the new market you are bringing in. And it seems most of the festivals they want to hold in the Plaza are already held in Yakima, which clearly shows that we already have the ability to host such gatherings.
In all, if it were to come to a vote, I would vote NO to the Yakima Central Plaza. I believe Yakima has other things it should focus on first. For example, I view getting the crime rate and homelessness problem under control as more of a priority and a necessity. Even if the Plaza is a solid plan, it is not the right plan for Yakima right now.
