Parks and Rec considers adding parking

Another solution for parking at Mills Park is looming on the horizon.

The Carson City Parks and Recreation commission will consider Tuesday the addition of temporary and permanent parking spaces between Highway 50 East and the park.

"We have to show a good faith effort to the Nevada Department of Transportation that we will go forth with some sort of parking scheme along 50," Parks and Recreation Director Steve Kastens said. "Here's our plan."

The parks department is proposing 57 temporary parking spaces as a solution to the park's chronic special events parking problem. The temporary spaces will cost almost $53,000 and changing the spaces to permanent ones will add $113,200. Kastens said no money has been found to fund the project. It will probably have to fight for funding with other city capital improvement projects, he said.

The bike path along the fence will be moved inside the park as part of the temporary parking plan. The permanent plan includes the addition of planters between some spaces and a landscaped barrier between the highway and parking lot.

"We won't do anything with the temporary parking that will be wasted with the permanent parking," Mayor Ray Masayko said.

The commission in July considered moving the bike path and adding 111 spaces to the area. Commissioners decided to move the path to the inside of the park, but opted to send the parking issue to the Community Center Master Plan Committee to be worked out.

The city is reacting in part to NDOT's edict that the Fourth of July was the last time the department would approve a special use permit of the area until Carson City addressed a permanent parking plan.

Masayko said the city will request a special use permit from NDOT for Nevada Day festivities.

"I wouldn't have spent the time and effort putting this on the fast track if I didn't think NDOT wasn't going to react favorably," Masayko said.