Arlington Hts. authorizes design work on public garages

The four public parking garages in Arlington Heights may be getting upgrades over the next few years.

The village has been studying the state of its parking garages since a 2013 assessment done by Walker Restoration Consultants found that approximately $2.3 million worth of work was needed over the next three years to rehabilitate the garages.

On Monday the village board approved a contract not to exceed $56,800 to Walker Restoration for professional engineering design services. The contract doesn't include any actual construction but plans for what needs to be done.

The design plans and eventual rehabilitation will eventually include the Evergreen Avenue underground garage, the Vail Avenue garage, the north garage and the municipal garage, said Mayor Tom Hayes.

"The all need work," Hayes said. "We need to look at if they are meeting the needs of our community."

The village will pay for the upgrades with additional money that is coming from a shift in its fiscal year.

From May 1, 2015 to Dec, 31, 2015 Arlington Heights will have a shortened fiscal year before switching to a calendar-based fiscal year. Although the one-time shortened year will bring some decreased costs, others such as debt service and capital projects will be the same as in previous years. The change is projected to bring at least a $2 million surplus, which officials have said will go toward the parking garage upgrades.

Village officials are not just looking at the maintenance and upkeep of the garages, but also making sure they have the best configuration to alleviate parking problems.

Parking concerns have been noted as a top complaint among Arlington Heights residents and shoppers in village surveys.

The work will also look at traffic patterns and layouts in the garages.

"It's an important thing," Hayes said. "We don't want them to get frustrated and leave, and we want them to be as safe as possible while in our garages."

Hayes said questions about parking are among the most frequent emails he gets from residents.

Walker Restoration will come back to the board with plans before bids go out for construction work, Hayes said.

While the garages are being rehabilitated, Hayes said the work likely will be done in phases to avoid closing an entire garage and creating a parking shortage for residents, commuters and visitors to the downtown.