Police will enforce downtown Gilroy parking limits

With two of downtown Gilroy’s largest parking lots closed to vehicles due to construction on Gourmet Alley and nearby street spaces filling up quickly every day, city officials will soon begin more strictly enforcing the neighborhood’s parking limits. 

Authorities will not begin immediately writing citations or tickets for parking violations, but will phase in the enforcement with educational notifications and warnings. After the warning period, officers may begin writing parking tickets to violating vehicles in a few weeks. A first offense parking ticket can cost the vehicle owner at least $43, or more if the fine is not paid on time, according to city staff. 

The purpose of the phased approach is “to give everyone ample time to adjust to the new enforcement,” says an announcement from the City of Gilroy. 

“To encourage business patronage in the downtown and to discourage all-day use of parking intended for visitors, the City of Gilroy will be starting parking enforcement in Downtown Gilroy in the coming weeks,” city staff wrote on social media June 24. 

When parking downtown, visitors are encouraged to note the signs indicating time restrictions for the area where their space is. Parking on Monterey Road as well as Fourth, Fifth and Sixth streets downtown is limited to two hours. 

City staff noted that there are more than 400 spaces available in public parking lots near downtown Gilroy. The public parking lots are free and available for all-day parking. People who work downtown are advised to park in available public parking lots, including the Gourmet Alley lot at Seventh and Eigleberry streets. 

Community service officers from the Gilroy Police Department will be tasked with the notification, warning and citation efforts in the city’s downtown, according to city staff. The department currently has three CSOs—two of whom are currently in training. When those two officers have completed training, their efforts will expand to downtown parking enforcement. 

The city’s CSOs are responsible not only for parking enforcement, but also for animal control, graffiti abatement, vehicle abatement, reports with no suspect information, and other duties as needed, city staff said. 

The renewed parking enforcement effort is happening while Gourmet Alley is under construction between Fourth and Sixth streets. During construction, parking lots on Eigleberry between Fourth and Sixth streets are closed to all vehicles, and that stretch of Gourmet Alley is closed to all vehicle and pedestrian traffic. 

Construction of the Gourmet Alley project is expected to last until the end of this year. The purpose of the project—which is funded by a $3.9 million grant from the state of California—is to transform Gourmet Alley between Fourth and Seventh streets into a modern, spacious, pedestrian-friendly corridor that will complement existing retail and hospitality properties. 

The project will consist of the resurfacing of Gourmet Alley and adjacent parking lots. It will also add lighting, trees, trash enclosures, benches, bike racks and improved signage and pavement markings. 

The project’s construction contractor is San Martin-based Trinchero Construction. 

As of June 24, crews on the Gourmet Alley project had installed posts for new trash enclosures and placed forms for concrete slabs and curbing, according to city staff. Concrete work is underway for planter box locations. 

“We sincerely appreciate your patience and understanding as we work through the Gourmet Alley Project,” says another social media post by city staff. 

For more information about parking in downtown Gilroy, including a map of available public parking, visit the city’s website at https://tinyurl.com/3m687c7x.