Photograph by Paul Myers

Shoppers John Ignoffo and Tiffany Teh wait for Corinthian International Parking Services attendants Mark Teixeira and Marc Maldia to retrieve their car from the town's valet parking lot.

Improved town parking program aims to help retailers woo holiday shoppers

By Gloria I. Wang

In the era of a sagging economy and decreasing retail profits, Los Gatos is hoping that its recently implemented holiday parking program will lure consumers to town during the shopping season.

The program consists of converting certain parking lots and spaces to more shopper-friendly time limits, such as making University Avenue a two-hour parking area instead of permit only. Much funding has gone into posters and brochures advertising where shoppers and employees can park.

The most obvious aspect of the program, however, is the free valet parking service, which was highly successful during last year's holidays. With signs all along downtown streets, the service is hard to miss.

Lot 4--between University and N. Santa Cruz avenues and Grays Lane and Elm Street, near Old Town--is designated as the valet parking lot. The upper floor is short-term, with a maximum parking time of four hours, while the underground level is for more than four hours. The service is available to both shoppers and employees. On the Friday after Thanksgiving, visitors tended to use the lower level more; at any given moment, 30 of the 70 upstairs spaces were full, while cars had to be double-parked downstairs.

Valet parking employees park the cars for free. Even though tipping is not expected, many members of the public hand over a dollar or two once they pick up their cars.

Los Gatans Wendy Holmes and Beverly Wagner said they had driven around downtown looking for a space before spotting the signs for valet service. The efficiency of the service, combined with the parking lot's location in the middle of downtown, made Holmes pleasantly surprised. "You don't have to walk all the way to the end of the street to get to your car," Holmes said.

"It makes shopping more desirable," Wagner said.

"The people are absolutely surprised and happy that there is valet parking for free," said Shirley Henderson, owner of the Antiquarium. Henderson added that not one of her customers has complained of not being able to find parking.

Henderson also commended the town for the brochures that have been passed out to businesses and pedestrians. Last year's brochures were described as confusing, and the valet parking signs had neglected to say "free." "Everything is so much better this year, and [the town] learned from their mistakes," Henderson said.

According to Holiday Parking Coordinator Carol Musser, the major difference between this year's program and last year's is the absence of a shuttle bus. People who parked in the Miles Avenue area lots were offered a free shuttle that took them into downtown. Because the shuttle was empty most of the time, the town decided to discontinue the service in 2001.

Musser said that another difference is the dates of the valet service. Last year, the program started Nov. 1 and lasted until Christmas Eve. This year valet service began Nov. 16. "It wasn't effectively used until closer toward the holidays," Musser said.

Of the $98,600 that the town allocated for the holiday parking plan, a bulk of the money went to promotion materials so that the program would be more visible in town.

"We want to work with the business community; we want to do everything we can to encourage accessibility for customers," Musser said.

Musser and the Los Gatos Chamber of Commerce actively worked to create incentives for people to park in the unlimited time lots on the outskirts of downtown. The license plates of the vehicles in those lots were logged into a weekly drawing, with prizes donated by Los Gatos businesses such as gift certificates from the California Cafe, cash awards and a Chamber of Commerce gift basket. The first weekly drawing was held Nov. 27 and consisted of six prizes.

The four unlimited parking lots are the bus depot lot behind the post office, the Park and Ride lot on Los Gatos-Saratoga Road, a Miles Avenue lot and the space near the intersection of E. Main Street and Park Avenue.

In October, the town entered into a $28,795 agreement with the Campbell-based Corinthian International Parking Services for valet parking. Corinthian provides two to three attendants for each floor on weekdays and up to four on weekends. The upper level is open from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. and the lower from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.

According to Musser, if the parking lot is closed for the evening and cars still remain in the lot, Corinthian attendants turn the car keys over to the police department for safekeeping. Vehicle owners can go to the police to retrieve their keys.

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