Oregon Zoo visitor Eugene Lo, of Seattle, looks at a new parking pay station at Washington Park. The stations begin operations on Friday, Jan. 10.
Visitors to the Oregon Zoo will see something new just outside the gates starting Friday.
It's not a new art installation, nor some interpretive exhibit – it's a parking pay station, one of dozens scattered across Portland's Washington Park. The pay stations go online Friday after years of discussions about how to manage transportation in the park.
That won't mean much of a change for visitors to Metro's Oregon Zoo and the nearby complex of museums just off of U.S. 26. But for zoo employees and visitors to the rest of Washington Park's parking lots, it's a change that could impact the way they use Washington Park.
City leaders say the impacts will be for the better, and that parking charges are needed to improve transportation through the park, to support maintenance of park roads and lots and to enhance security by adding rangers. The Portland City Council approved the changes in 2012, when it created the Washington Park Transportation Management Association.
The creation of the association came in response to a growing challenge – "How do we pour more resources into Washington Park and make it a better place for our community?" said Kim Smith, the director of the Oregon Zoo.
Washington Park is owned by Portland Parks & Recreation and is one of the city's hallmark attractions, featuring the International Rose Test Garden, the Portland Japanese Garden and other venues. That left it vulnerable to hard choices that come during budget season for a parks district that serves more than 600,000 people. Only about 12,000 live in the vicinity of the park.
As far back as 1981, transportation and parking were key challenges at the park, said Heather McCarey, the transportation management association's executive director. Adding a parking charge is one of the ways visitors can be encouraged to leave their cars at home when they decide to visit Washington Park.
Visitors will be charged $1.60 an hour during the day at most of the park's lots, maxing at $4 per day in the winter and $6.40 per day in the summer.
McCarey said the association projects to raise $2 million annually, which would then be put toward hiring rangers, paving potholes, fixing signs, adding sidewalks and improving bike infrastructure.
"There has never been one dedicated ranger in the park until now," she said. "We'll have three dedicated rangers at the park, which will grow to six during the peak season."
But the real hope, she said, is to add a shuttle for Washington Park visitors. A seasonal TriMet route, the 83-Washington Park Loop, runs from May to October.
"It was a huge desire for a long time and the means have never been there to create that," McCarey said.
The zoo's Smith said parking in the summer can be chaotic and busy. By 10 a.m. on a perfect summer day, she said, the zoo can have more than 14,000 visitors. Traffic will back up on the freeway.
"I've found people parking in the neighborhoods, which is not good," Smith said. "I've found them parking on the ramps. Parking is an issue here and we need to resolve it. We love that everyone wants to come, we think that's awesome, but we do need to manage it."
That means no more free parking for Oregon Zoo Foundation members, nor for zoo employees. Only full-time employees get transit passes, although the zoo pays for the $2.50 return ticket for part-time employees who take MAX to work.
"We care deeply about our employees," Smith said. "We (pay the return ticket) mainly to make sure we're able to help those using the MAX."
Not surprisingly, the new parking fees have drawn skepticism from some neighbors Washington Park visitors. On a recent chilly afternoon, some International Rose Test Garden said it was unfair to charge for parking, and worried about the impact on tourists.
Up the hill, though, Oregon Zoo visitor Donna Gamble said her biggest concern was for the animals.
"I'd feel better if it supported the zoo," Gamble said.
Metro deputy chief operating officer Scott Robinson said the new parking plan won't affect the zoo financially. The new agreement, Robinson said, will shift some of the responsibilities for capital projects around the zoo, required as part of the expansion approved by voters in 2008, from Metro to the association.