Is there a solution to the Uptown Butte parking problem?

Parking in Uptown Butte has always been an issue, from way before even the days of having to run outside to plug the meter with nickels and dimes every so often to avoid finding that dreaded parking violation ticket under your driver's side windshield wiper.  Today, in order to make way for shoppers and diners, parking is free for 2 hours inside district boundaries.  Which means that if you work uptown, you are constantly moving your vehicle to avoid being cited.  Unless you use the Uptown parking garage.

The parking garage is accessible near the Phoenix Building on Park Street and also on the lower level across from the Richest Hill Casino and Copper Plate Restaurant.  It really is a good facility including stairs accessing both Park and Galena Streets and an elevator.

You will find many cars utilizing the lower-level parking spaces but for the most part the upper levels are seldom used.

Why is this public garage so underused?  There are many reasons.  Some Uptown employees have to walk a block or more from the garage to get to work.  In subzero temperatures, nobody wants to endure that and for others, physical limitations make the trek unrealistic.  The problems, though, run deeper than that.  Many people find the garage in poor conditions, particularly in the stairwells.

The area has also become a gathering ground for transients, vagrants and beggars, raising the issue of safety for many workers.

It is not just an issue of accessibility.  It brings up the issues of homelessness, mental illness, crime and drug addiction to name a few, none of which can be pegged on a single agency or organization.  But regardless of who is to blame, the parking situation in Uptown Butte continues to frustrate drivers, workers and business owners alike.