The Impact Of 'Smart Park' Garages

"Recently, city of Portland staff recommended virtually eliminating the marketing efforts that drive traffic downtown. (City asks if parking subsidy is well spent, Nov. 19). For all the years that we as retailers have been working in downtown, it has always been understood that the Smart Park garages would be clean, safe, friendly and affordable for shoppers, visitors and those doing business in downtown. This certainty has allowed many of us to consider downtown as a viable option for our business. We believed that we could forego our own dedicated parking for our customers because we could rely upon the Smart Park garages to support downtown."