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Chamber and CVB outline downtown parking concept to keep shoppers walking Oak Street
Summary
A Chamber/CVB representative told the council a downtown reconfiguration — partial street closures, a new courtyard and repurposed lots including a Union Pacific parcel — could add roughly 44 to 100 parking spaces and make Oak Street more pedestrian friendly.
John Parent, representing the Pecos Convention & Visitors Bureau and Chamber of Commerce, presented a conceptual plan to the City Council on Feb. 13 aimed at adding downtown parking and creating a more pedestrian‑oriented downtown.
Parent described options including partial closure or barricading of First Street off U.S. 285, creation of courtyard/bulb‑out areas in front of the museum and shifting a Pecos bell display into a central pedestrian island to create a cul‑de‑sac circulation pattern. He identified several potential parking sites: redesigned on‑street spaces between First and Third streets, a western lot behind museum storage, and a 0.74‑acre parcel owned by Union Pacific that could yield roughly 22 spaces if repurposed and cleaned up. Parent estimated the concept could create about 44 new parking spaces in an initial area and up to roughly 100 parking spaces depending on final layout.
Parent said he discussed the concept with museum representatives and the EDC; the EDC has already proposed work on a larger lot west of the site. He suggested the city, EDC and Chamber coordinate on grant opportunities and parking‑management options — including possible sale of reserved spots to downtown residents and use of golf‑cart/rickshaw style shuttles on busy nights.
Council members and staff asked about ADA parking, private ownership of some lots and how trucks currently use the corridor to avoid a U.S. 285 signal. Parent said he used scale drawings from RCDC and Google Earth to produce the concept and invited the council to request a formal feasibility study and detailed engineering from the EDC and chamber if the council desired.
City staff and EDC representatives said they would work with the Chamber to identify funding sources and coordinate potential grant applications and design work if council wishes to advance the concept.
