The situation in the shared parking lot between Centennial Hall and the Juneau Arts and Culture Center has been frustrating for patrons of both buildings, and Nancy DeCherney’s heard the complaints.
As the Executive Director of the Juneau Arts &Humanities Council, she explained the frustrations.
“Parking is an issue around here,” DeCherney said in an interview Wednesday at the JACC, “and some people drew to our attention that occasionally they may be at a meeting here and Centennial Hall has open spots and vice versa, and couldn’t we do something about that?”
Now, she and others at both buildings hope they’ve provided at least some help.
Starting last week, the two staffs began a shared parking program, where people attending events in either building during the day can use parking spots at the other facility if space is available. Those looking to do this can go to the JACC office and obtain a Temporary Parking Permit, which is good for that day.
According to the Centennial Hall office, there are 50 parking spaces allotted to Centennial Hall. The JACC office reported that there are 16 spots devoted to the JACC. There’s state worker parking in the center of the lot between the two, which is always unavailable for general parking during business hours, which run from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
City and Borough of Juneau Parks &Recreation Director Kirk Duncan said he expects patrons at the JACC to use it much more than patrons at Centennial Hall, as there are so many more spots for Centennial Hall than the JACC.
The Parks &Recreation department operates city-owned Centennial Hall, and Duncan said he was invited to a JAHC meeting about two months ago where the idea was being discussed. He liked the idea and felt both sides could benefit.
“We want to work with the JACC and this is an effective way for us to do it,” Duncan said. “I’m not sure why we haven’t done this in the past.”
For now, the initiative is just in a trial period. At the end of the month, representatives from both buildings will meet and evaluate the program.
This has opened the lines of communication between the two staffs, as they’ve had to keep each other in the loop about event schedules. Those at the JACC want the Centennial Hall staff to know when to expect overflow parking, and vice versa.
This collaboration comes at a time when conversations at City Hall have questioned the relationship between the two buildings. The CBJ Assembly briefly considered a ballot initiative that would have given hotel tax revenue to the construction of a new JACC. Deputy Mayor Jerry Nankervis and others objected because they felt that the JACC is a competitor to city-owned Centennial Hall.
This prompted questions in the community about the relationship between the two buildings, DeCherney said.
“There have been comments recently about, ‘How do the JACC and Centennial Hall work together?’” DeCherney said. “This is a good indication that we do work together to solve problems.”
Whether this parking initiative will solve the problem remains to be seen. It’s been a quiet time of year for events at either building, which will change next Friday when the Safety &Preparedness Expo comes to Centennial Hall. Organizers for that event expect 1,000 people to be there Friday and Saturday, and DeCherney said the JACC staff is ready for the overflow parking.
On Thursday afternoon, Juneau resident Scott Jeffers parked in front of Centennial Hall for a little while. Though he doesn’t come there often, Jeffers said he comes to events at Centennial Hall and notices the lack of parking. He smiled as he heard about the new parking plan, shrugging his shoulders as he considered whether it would help.
“It’s hard to say,” Jeffers said. “It’s a limited footprint for what could be a lot of use. I don’t know if it’ll really help, but it can’t hurt, right?”
• Contact reporter Alex McCarthy at alex.mccarthy@juneauempire.com.
