Columbia’s City Council approved plans last Monday night for a slightly larger parking garage downtown. The new structure on Short Street is set to be built with 410 spaces, an increased size from the original design.
By Robert Partyka (Columbia, Mo.)
Columbia city council members unanimously approved the plans that would allocate 135 spaces for the general public. Estimates from the old design had only 65 of the total 340 spaces available for the public.
Besides additional parking spaces, the council also discussed plans for including electric outlets for chargeable ‘smart’ cars.
Sixth Ward Councilmember Barbara Hoppe was disappointed at the contractor’s lack of an estimate for the cost of including these “outlets.”
“I would like that to be considered, or part of this," she said.
A representative for Walker Construction, the St. Louis-based contractor working on the project, said that while he didn’t have the cost figure with him it was something they could provide as soon as the city decided on a final number of spaces.