It is encouraging to see movement toward a common-sense approach to the parking problems in Butler. Last Thursday's decision by the Parking Authority of the City of Butler to move forward with a plan to build a single-level deck over the existing South McKean Street lot should ease the immediate parking woes in the area, while costing a fraction of the price of a full-scale tier garage.

Parking in the Diamond Park area has been a problem in recent years and Bill Morgan, owner of the Morgan Center office building on the Diamond, has been pressing for construction of a tier garage on the site of the McKean Street lot, next to his office building.

Some city council members thought a tier garage on the site of the nearby Diamond Street parking lot made more sense, but that option was likely to be more costly due to extensive excavation to deal with a sloping grade. While debate continued over the parking dilemma, Morgan and other building owners in the Diamond area said the lack of parking was a threat to attracting new businesses and keeping existing office operations from moving to where parking is more available and convenient.

Depending on how revitalization efforts in the city proceed, there might be a need for additional parking in other parts of the city, away from the Diamond Street area. And building a single, 264-space tier garage, as was once proposed, would have financially maxed-out the parking authority.

By opting to build a single-level deck, estimated to cost $900,000 for 65 additional spaces, the parking authority will have the financial ability to create additional parking at other lots in other areas of the city as the need arises - or as dictated by a long-range master plan for the city.

Additionally, the low-profile decks have aesthetic appeal in being less visually obtrusive than a massive new tier garage.

While cost estimates are still preliminary, it is hoped the less-complicated construction of a parking deck can yield a lower cost-per-space than the estimated $14,000 projected for a new tier garage. But that information will only come with additional research, and ultimately, in the bidding process.

At this point, parking authority officials should be doing their own research into parking deck construction to complement the information provided by Morgan and the architectural firm of Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates. Officials in other cities that have installed low-profile parking decks might have useful information to share regarding construction and design as well as cost guidelines.

Similarly, since the cost of a parking deck is about a quarter of the $4-million estimated for a full-scale tier garage, interesting financing options might also be available to the parking authority.

Instead of a conventional bond issue, where underwriters take a substantial cut, the new lower-cost project might be creatively financed in part by using the $485,000 the county is paying the authority for the surface lot on Washington and Cunningham Streets where the new county jail will be built. Beyond that, banks in the county might be able to provide attractive rates for a $500,000 loan.

And the amount to be borrowed for the parking deck construction could be minimized if local businesses, that will benefit from the new parking spaces, offer up-front payment for long-term leased spaces. Or perhaps, the county, whose workers at the government center on West Diamond Street, contribute to the parking woes in the Diamond Street area, might offer financial assistance in the form of a grant or low-interest loan.

Considering the county's budget surplus and other available funds, some cooperative arrangement that benefits the city would seem appropriate.

While details involving construction costs and financing will be coming in the weeks and months ahead, the decision to move forward with a parking deck on the South McKean Street lot appears to be a logical and timely move. There is more work to be done, but this initial step to ease Diamond area parking problems is encouraging.