Restoration work on a popular Lexington parking garage has some motorists scrambling for parking spots. The Annex Garage along Main Street was closed in early November. Normally, Lexington Parking Authority Director Gary Means says over six hundred vehicles parked there each day. “They come through the garage on a given day. And then you have at least 300 employees or monthly parkers that could park there on any given day. And there’s only 380 spaces so it was a busy garage before we had to close it,” said Means.The three-point-one million dollar project involves needed safety repairs, water proofing, lighting upgrades, and a new entry-exit system. New street signs now direct drivers to alternative parking facilities. Alternate parking spots can be found in the Transit Center and Courthouse Garages, and along downtown streets.
“The one day that we sort of had our sights on during the month of November was juror selection day which usually puts about 200 parkers in the Courthouse Garage on top of everything else that’s already going on. We actually got down to about 22 spaces that day at the peak of all of that. So, we made it through and even by noon we were up to 189 empty spaces,” added Means.
Restoration work at the Annex Garage should be complete by next summer.
