New Courthouse Opens Downtown

More than four years after construction crews broke ground at the site of the new Judge Steve Herrera Judicial Complex in downtown Santa Fe, the over-budget, $63 million building opened its doors to the public Monday.
The 103,000-square-foot, multistory courthouse, completed after years of setbacks and funding shortfalls, was filled with people taking in the pristine building. “Beautiful,” said Larry Neto of Santa Fe, who attended a family member’s court hearing Monday morning, though he complained about one of the most controversial aspects of the planning that went into the brand new complex — the lack of public parking.
“Parking is horrendous,” Neto said. “I was surprised to see absolutely no parking spots. When someone eventually finds a spot, they will have missed their hearing.”
Santa Fe County deputies Monday morning repeatedly had to wave off people trying to pull into the building’s underground parking garage, which is reserved for court personnel, government lawyers and law enforcement. The Santa Fe County Commission last year voted to eliminate public parking in the 150-space, two-level underground garage after security concerns were raised by the District Attorney’s Office and the Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office.
“We’re trying to do all we can to alleviate the parking situation in light of the County Commission’s decision,” First Judicial District Chief Judge Raymond Ortiz said Monday. From the beginning, Ortiz had supported allotting 40 spaces to the public in the garage.
Ortiz said court administrators are working with the city shuttle program to transport people from public parking areas such as the Railyard and Capitol garages. Ortiz said the shuttle, already making daily trips around the downtown area, would add additional stops at the courthouse and the Capitol garage.
Both garages are within a quarter-mile of the new courthouse and offer more than 1,500 parking spaces, although the parking garage at the Roundhouse would be unavailable during legislative sessions. Also within a quarter-mile of the courthouse are 544 metered parking spaces, according to figures provided by the city. That’s almost double the metered spaces available around the old courthouse, the city said, though there also is a 500-space underground garage immediately across Grant Avenue from that building, under the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.
Local businesses around the new courthouse welcome its opening after years of dealing with construction and delays…
Continue reading article at  Santa Fe New Mexican
By: Nico Roesler (Santa Fe New Mexican)