The top floor of Morgan Hill’s downtown parking garage is expected to reopen at the end of March.
The City of Morgan Hill closed the top floor of the structure in September 2017 after reports of adults and youth climbing on the roof ledges, cars speeding within the structure, skateboarding and cycling at high rates of speed, loitering, littering and vandalism.
The closure affects 50 parking spaces, but not for much longer.
“At the same time the closure was implemented, several other immediate improvements were completed,” Community Services Director Chris Ghione said via email.
Last September, the Morgan Hill City Council approved $200,000 from the city’s public utilities fund for improvements to the downtown parking garage. Construction of improvements could end with a lower price tag than the total funds allocated, according to city staff.
Surveillance cameras have been added to the structure, as well as increased signage notifying people in the garage of the cameras, and listing the prohibited activities inside the structure.
Additional improvements include extra signage, improvements to prevent roof access, and temporary fencing used to block off the top floor.
“The fencing has proven to be a very effective measure and people attempting to climb over the fencing has not been an issue,” Ghione said.
While the top floor is closed, Ghione said the city may remove the temporary fencing during major events when high use is anticipated. The closure is intended to reduce the inappropriate use that occurred when the top floor was empty.
“The security fencing, improvements, and regular patrol by Morgan Hill Police Department has resulted in a very significant reduction in issues occurring at the parking structure,” he said.
While the city is still considering options for permanent improvements to prevent access to ledges, the intention is to create barriers similar to walls and to have them in place when the top floor is permanently reopened.
Look forward to additional parking and rooftop views again at the end of the March.
The downtown parking garage, located between East Third and Fourth streets on the east side of Monterey Road, cost about $9 million and was built with leftover Redevelopment Agency funds in 2016. The 3.5-story structure houses about 270 parking spots, as well as public art, bicycle lockers and electric vehicle charging stations.
