By COLIN CAMPBELL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 05/22/04

The idea of building a multistory parking deck in Piedmont Park is finally getting the attention it deserves. That was clear from last Wednesday's crowded public meeting and tour of the park.

If the public-private Piedmont Park Conservancy keeps the discussion open like that, and if the private Atlanta Botanical Garden steps forward in the same spirit, Atlanta will be the winner.

The conservancy and the botanical garden have been models of how a cash-poor, managerially challenged local government can let private donations and vigorous new managers create more livable environments. But such arrangements can't be closed to public scrutiny and debate, as too much about the proposed parking deck has been.

Even the excellent conservancy, for example, has benefited in the past from public criticism. And even the private Atlanta Botanical Garden needs to get along with its neighbors. Both organizations occupy city-owned land.

So let's be frank. The botanical garden's idea of reserving its whole spread (roughly 30 acres) for gardens, woods and buildings while erecting a parking deck on a hillside just outside the botanical garden but inside Piedmont Park ? well, the concept isn't winning much applause.

Maybe that will change this Wednesday when the botanical garden unveils its rendering of what the half-buried garage would look like. (I'm capable of being convinced.)

But since the botanical garden and the conservancy haven't disclosed their needs and plans in detail, people are bound to ask questions about the overall plan.
For example, why park 500 to 750 vehicles in a green urban park that has only begun to recover from the curses of too many vehicles and too many buildings? Moreover, if a parking deck is a good idea for the interior of Piedmont Park, why not Grant Park, Perkerson Park, Chastain Park or the botanical garden itself?

I don't get it yet. The conservancy treats the idea with respect, yet the conservancy might gain only marginally from the deal (some parking, money and a new northern entrance). If the botanical garden really needs a garage in Piedmont Park, you'd think it would offer treasure in return, such as the 15-acre forest known as Storza Woods.

Nor is it clear how deeply the botanical garden has investigated building a dedicated parking deck on commercial land (or gray city land) along Piedmont Avenue or Monroe Drive. A parking deck there might be linked to the botanical garden (as someone suggested last week) with a trolley or tram. The botanical garden says it dislikes shuttle buses. But a safe, clean tram might add to the garden's fun.

Lots of Atlantans will be happy if this garage thing can be resolved without involving City Hall or the courts. Best would be a friendly, open, creative conversation among the conservancy, the botanical garden, neighbors and citizens.

Last week the discussion was making progress. But it needs to stay civil at the conservancy's next public meeting (6 p.m. Wednesday in Piedmont Park's Magnolia Hall), and it needs to be transparent.

Otherwise, the growing hopes of expanding Piedmont Park and building more parks, and raising more private money for green space won't look quite so promising.