Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist has proposed improvements be made to the Spring Street and Cherry Street parking ramps. P-J photo by Dennis Phillips

Several new parking ramp improvements have been proposed to possibly increase their use.

During a recent Jamestown City Council work session, Jamestown Mayor Eddie Sundquist proposed improvements be made to the Cherry Street and Spring Street parking ramps. He said Allpro Parking, the company city officials contract with to operate the parking ramps, has suggested that the ramps be transitioned to fully automated.

Currently, parking attendants work at the ramps from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., which is when people pay to park at the ramps. After 6 p.m., parking at the ramps is free. He added that with the savings from not paying someone to work at the ramp and charging people to park at the ramps at all times of the day the city will save money and generate additional revenue.

“If you need someone you can push a button and get someone at a call center over video to assist you with your transaction,” he said. “This way we can make the ramp a 24-hour operation.”

Sundquist said state mandated improvements also need to be made to the ramps, which includes the elevator at the Spring Street location. He also said there would be improvements made to the security cameras and lighting at both ramps.

The mayor said new bike share stalls would also be installed, so people can rent a bicycle to ride across the city. He said the bikes would be electric bicycles to assist people when riding up a hill.

“We will install bike kiosk across the city to provide a program where someone can get a bike from a bike stall and return it to any stall,” he said. “This way visitors can enjoy a nice bike ride across the city or along the (Greater Jamestown) Riverwalk, or it’s another way for residents to get around.”

Sundquist said the proposed parking ramp improvements would cost $1.7 million.

He proposed that the funding for the improvements come from the Smart Cities bond the city financed last year. He added that much of the bond financing was slated to go toward the central equipment and maintenance garage city officials were planning to construct. The garage project has been put on hold because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“The majority of the costs of the improvements comes from the elevator in the Spring Street ramp, which will cost about $500,000, as well as the Cherry Street traffic coding, which cost $700,000,” he said. “Both are required to do at some point.”

Sundquist said the council will review the proposed parking ramp improvements and will continue the discussion at its next work session meeting scheduled to start at 7:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 16.

“We are excited to continue to work to modernize the city,” he said. “These are the first steps.”