We All Need Our Space With 9,500 Parking Spots At Or Near The Arena, The Task Of Jockeying For Position Has Become Easier

(From For the Record, Saturday, September 9, 1995:) The parking area for the Chateaux Apartments at 930 N. Washington is not open for public use. A map in Friday’s special Arena section suggested otherwise.

There is good news and bad on the arena parking front.

The good news? There will be plenty of it.

The bad news? Every spot around the arena will cost $3.

By combining the parking lot at the old Coliseum and the city’s northeast lot - built to reduce carbon monoxide emissions downtown - with the huge new lot built where the Coliseum once stood, there will be 2,000 parking spaces at the Arena.

About 7,500 others are within short walking distance north and south of the river.

The Spokane Transit Authority provides shuttle service from Riverside and Wall downtown to Boone Avenue near the arena.

And STA is considering both expanding its operating hours beyond 7 p.m. to accommodate night events and setting up a bus shelter next to the arena.

“We’re willing to try some innovative things,” says STA Executive Director Allen Schweim. “We’re just not sure yet what the market is.”

Schweim says the trick is to tie downtown restaurants and pubs to the north side of the river.

Arena Project Manager Jerry Schlatter notes the walk from downtown across the river is not daunting, if the average person can develop a new mindset.

“What you’re really talking about is a five-minute walk … and that’s nothing,” he says. “I mean, that’s just a nice little pleasant stroll.”

One of the keys to the Seattle Kingdome’s success is the huge inventory of downtown parking, says Schlatter, who built that arena, too.

“There are restaurants (in Spokane) that could stand to have a good hit on Saturday night or Sunday or Friday night or whenever.

“We have to separate people from their vehicles.”

, DataTimes ILLUSTRATION: Map of downtown available parking