Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1954-06-27

the CITY,"
There are few tangible effects
thus far. One large garage OPP
orator in the department store
shopping area said he will cut
prices within the next few days.
Another said he was seriously
considering the same move in a
bid for more business.
Others, however, said they are
not overly concerned by drops
they are experiencing. At least
one said he was confident enough
to open an expensive new struc-
ture downtown later this year.
The situation. the operators
emphasized, varies sharply even
in the same area, with the pre-
else location of facilities being
the key factor. 1.-THE difference
in half a block in location" one
said. "can be the difference be-
tween making a lot pay and
failing"
1880 Parking Spaces.
District Engineer Commission
er Louis w. Prentiss, testifying
before a House committee last
month, said Washington since
1916 has provided more Off
street parking area in the central
business district than any other
city in the United States"
Figures compiled by the Ma
tional and Washington parking
groups. Mr.. Doggett said, show
there were 1880 off-street spaces
open to the public commercially
here as of the first Of the year.
Over the last year, District Off
Gals estimate, new spaces have
grown at the rate Of about 200
a month.
The big upswing started q few
years ago, when pressure was
mounting for the District gov
eminent to enter the parking
picture. Private operators-rep-
resenting a $48 million invest
ment here in real estate and ga
rage structures-fought the
move and argued that they could
handle the city's off-street park
ing needs.
Describes Declining Business.
The downtown operator who
plans to cut prices this week
said that's when his troubles
started.
These pressures and all the
talk about shortage of spaces
gave a lot of people the idea
that this is a gold mine." he
said. Nov, at least in my area,
there's not enough business to
go around"
The operator. who asked he
not be identified. said that about
the time Of the Korean war out
break he was turning some peo-
pie away during rush hours. I"
generally between II am. and
pm. But he cited these figures
to show what's happened since:
On the basis of fiscal years
ending May 81, he handled to-
tails Of $4,000 cars in 1850. 216,-
900 in 1851 and $4,000 in 1852.
But the totals dropped to 202,-
900 last year and 1876. 1000 for the
year just ended.
This operator several months
ago raised all-day parking prices
because he was getting too high
a ratio" of all-day parkers. This
week, he plans to cut the all-day
rate Is cents to try to get some
of them back. He also plans to
set up special before-noon and
after-6 pm. rates.
Losing Money on Two Lots.
Another operator in the same
general area said he is losing
money on two open-air lots. He
said he was either going TO have
to TRY to get the rents reduced
or try to do something about the
leases"
Prices vary widely between
various lots, operators explained,
largely according to operating
costs. Lots in some locations
have such high rents. for ex-
ample, that each space must
have a two or three-car turn
over a day to pay. These opera
tors, seeking to discourage all
day parking, are likely to have
very high all-day rates. Others.
particularly large garages, try
to gear rates that will attract
a certain proportion of sll-day
customers.
Several operators, in addition
to citing new spaces as the
cause of business drops. said
they thought much Of the driv-
ing public still believes down.
town spaces are hard to find.
Three Other Reasons Cited.
These other reasons also were
cited by one or more operators
as their explanations for volume
drops:
/. Reductions In downtown
business.
| 2. Motorists are Tightening up
their own budgets. and aren't
willing to pay garage prices.
3. Television, cited by several